Too Late
by saranicole
Summary: What would happen if the werewolves were too late and Laurent bit Bella? Will Bella be alone through her change? Where will she go to learn to control herself? What happens when Edward goes back to Forks, and Bella is gone? Rated K-plus for mild language.
1. Prologue: Meadow

**TOO LATE **

**by saranicole**

**

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****A/N – This first chapter is directly quoted from _New Moon _(pp. 235-242). I hope I don't get sued (although what kind of lawyer has the time to read fan fiction?). I just wanted to set the story up, without anyone having to go grab his/her copy of _New Moon_ and read seven-ish pages before being able to start my story. (And I tried very hard to type this carefully, with correct punctuation and such. So I hope it is right.) I'll post another chapter right after this, since this is nothing new. **

**Also, I'm going to say this _once_, at the beginning: I do not own any of Stephenie Meyer's characters. Duh. **

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**Chapter One – Meadow **

**Bella Swan – ****Saturday, March 4, 2006**

"Laurent!" I cried in surprised pleasure.

It was an irrational response. I probably should have stopped at fear.

Laurent had been on of James's coven when we'd first met. He hadn't been involved with the hunt that followed—the hunt where I was the quarry—but that was only because he was afraid; I was protected by a bigger coven than his own. It would have been different if that wasn't the case—he'd had no compunctions, at the time, against making a meal of me. Of course, he must have changed, because he'd gone to Alaska to live with the other civilized coven there, the other family that refused to drink human blood for ethical reasons. The other family like . . . but I couldn't let myself think the name.

Yes, fear would have made more sense, but all I felt was an overwhelming satisfaction. The meadow was a magic place again. A darker magic than I'd expected, to be sure, but magic all the same. Here was the connection I'd sought. The proof, however remote, that—somewhere in the same world where I lived—_he_ did exist.

It was impossible how exactly the same Laurent looked. It supposed I was very silly and human of me to expect some kind of change in the last year. But there was something . . . I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

"Bella?" he asked, looking more astonished than I felt.

"You remember." I smiled. It was ridiculous that I should be so elated because a vampire knew my name.

He grinned. "I didn't expect to see you here." He strolled toward me, his expression bemused.

"Isn't it the other way around? I do live here. I thought you'd gone to Alaska."

He stopped about ten paces away, cocking his head to the side. His face was the most beautiful face I'd seen in what felt like an eternity. I studied his features with a strangely greedy sense of release. Here was someone I didn't have to pretend for—someone who already knew everything I could never say.

"You're right," he agreed. "I did go to Alaska. Still, I didn't expect . . . When I found the Cullen place empty, I thought they'd moved on."

"Oh." I bit my lip as the name set the raw edges of my wound throbbing. It took me a second to compose myself. Laurent waited with curious eyes.

"They did move on," I finally managed to tell him.

"Hmm," he murmured. "I'm surprised they left you behind. Weren't you sort of a pet of theirs?" His eyes were innocent of any intended offense.

I smiled wryly. "Something like that."

"Hmm," he said, thoughtful again.

At that precise moment, I realized why he looked the same—_too much_ the same. After Carlisle told us that Laurent had stayed with Tanya's family, I'd begun to picture him, on the rare occasions that I thought of him at all, with the same golden eyes that the . . . Cullens—I forced the name out, wincing—had. That all _good_ vampires had.

I took an involuntary step back, and his curious, dark red eyes followed the movement.

"Do they visit often?" he asked, still casual, but his weight shifted toward me.

"Lie," the beautiful velvet voice whispered anxiously from my memory.

I started at the sound of _his _voice, but it should not have surprised me. Was I not in the worst danger imaginable? The motorcycle was safe as kittens next to this.

I did what the voice said to do.

"Now and again." I tried to make my voice light, relaxed. "The time seems longer to me, I imagine. You know how they get distracted. . . ." I was beginning to babble. I had to work to shut myself up.

"Hmm," he said again. "The house smelled like it had been vacant for a while. . . ."

"You must lie better than that, Bella," the voice urged.

I tried. "I'll have to mention to Carlisle that you stopped by. He'll be sorry they missed your visit." I pretended to deliberate for a second. "But I probably shouldn't mention it to . . . Edward, I suppose—" I managed to say his name, and it twisted my expression on the way out, ruining my bluff "—he has such a temper . . . well, I'm sure you remember. He's still touchy about the whole James thing." I rolled my eyes and waved one hand dismissively, like it was all ancient history, but there was an edge of hysteria to my voice. I wondered if he would recognize what it was.

"Is he really?" Laurent asked pleasantly . . . skeptically.

I kept my reply short, so that my voice wouldn't betray my panic. "Mm-hmm."

Laurent took a casual step to the side, gazing around at the little meadow. I didn't miss that the step brought his closer to me. In my head, the voice responded with a low snarl.

"So how are things working out in Denali? Carlisle said you were staying with Tanya?" My voice was too high.

The question made him pause. "I like Tanya very much," he mused. "And her sister Irina even more. . . . I've never stayed in one place for so long before, and I enjoy the advantages, the novelty of it. But, the restrictions are difficult. . . . I'm surprised that any of them can keep it up for long." He smiled at me conspiratorially. "Sometimes I cheat."

I couldn't swallow. My foot started to ease back, but I froze when his red eyes flickered down to catch the movement.

"Oh," I said in a faint voice. "Jasper has problems with that, too."

"Don't move," the voice whispered. I tried to do what he instructed. It was hard; the instinct to take flight was nearly uncontrollable.

"Really?" Laurent seemed interested. "Is that why they left?"

"No," I answered honestly. "Jasper is more careful at home."

"Yes," Laurent agreed. "I am, too."

The step forward he took now was quite deliberate.

"Did Victoria ever find you?" I asked, breathless, desperate to distract him. It was the first question that popped into my head, and I regretted it as soon as the words were spoken. Victoria—who _had_ hunted me with James, and then disappeared—was not someone I wanted to think of at this particular moment.

But the question did stop him.

"Yes," he said, hesitating on that step. "I actually came here as a favor to her." He made a face. "She won't be happy about this."

"About what?" I said eagerly, inviting him to continue. He was glaring into the trees, away from me. I took advantage of his diversion, taking a furtive step back.

He looked back at me and smiled—the expression made him look like a black-haired angel.

"About me killing you," he answered in a seductive purr.

I staggered back another step. The frantic growling in my head made it hard to hear.

"She wanted to save that part for herself," he went on blithely. "She's sort of . . . put out with you, Bella."

"Me?" I squeaked.

He shook his head and chuckled. "I know, it seems a little backward to me, too. But James was her mate, and your Edward killed him."

Even here, on the point of death, his name tore against my unhealed wounds like a serrated edge.

Laurent was oblivious to my reaction. "She thought it more appropriate to kill you than Edward—fair turnabout, mate for mate. She asked me to get the lay of the land for her, so to speak. I didn't imagine you would be so easy to get to. So maybe her plan was flawed—apparently it wouldn't be the revenge she imagined, since you must not mean very much to him if he left you here unprotected."

Another blow, another tear through my chest.

Laurent's weight shifted slightly, and I stumbled back another step.

He frowned. "I suppose she'll be angry, all the same."

"Then why not wait for her?" I choked out.

A mischievous grin rearranged his features. "Well, you've caught me at a bad time, Bella. I didn't come to _this_ place on Victoria's mission—I was hunting. I'm quite thirsty, and you do smell . . . simply mouthwatering."

Laurent looked at me with approval, as if he meant it as a compliment.

"Threaten him," the beautiful delusion ordered his voice distorted with dread.

"He'll know it was you," I whispered obediently. "You won't get away with this."

"And why not?" Laurent's smile widened. He gazed around the small opening in the trees. "The scent will wash away with the next rain. No one will find your body—you'll simply go missing, like so many, many other humans. There's no reason for Edward to think of me, if he cares enough to investigate. This is nothing personal, let me assure you, Bella. Just thirst."

"Beg," my hallucination begged.

"Please," I gasped.

Laurent shook his head, his face kind. "Look at it this way, Bella. You're very lucky I was the one to find you."

"Am I?" I mouthed, faltering another step back.

Laurent followed, lithe and graceful.

"Yes," he assured me. "I'll be very quick. You won't feel a thing, I promise. Oh, I'll lie to Victoria about that later, naturally, just to placate her. But if you knew what she had planned for you, Bella . . ." He shook his head with a slow movement, almost as if in disgust. "I swear you'd be thanking me for this."

I stared at him in horror.

He sniffed at the breeze that blew threads of my hair in his direction. "Mouthwatering," he repeated, inhaling deeply.

I tensed for the spring, my eyes squinting as I cringed away, and the sound of Edward's furious roar echoed distantly in the back of my head. His name burst through all the walls I'd built to contain it. _Edward, Edward, Edward._ I was going to die. It shouldn't matter if I thought of him now. _Edward, I love you._


	2. Pain

**TOO LATE **

**by saranicole **

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**A/N – Okay, here goes the (semi) original plot… I hope you like it! **

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**Chapter Two – Pain **

**Bella Swan – ****Saturday, March 4, 2006**

Through my narrowed eyes, I watched as Laurent slowly sauntered forward. It was torturous, but it gave me time to repeat my final _I love you'_s to Edward.

When Laurent got within arm's reach, I closed my eyes completely. My time was over now, and I had no intention of watching. Pictures of Edward played on the backs of my eyelids and I felt happy again, pretending I was with him.

Laurent grabbed my shoulders, then, and I felt a sharp, slicing pain in my neck. The pain would be of short duration. It would all be over soon. And after a second, the cut went numb. It knew _that_ sensation wouldn't last long though. But hopefully, by the time the burning kicked in, I would be gone.

Then, suddenly, Laurent pulled away. I was so shocked that I opened my eyes. But he wasn't looking at me. He was glancing to the left, with a stunned look on his face. He started backing away, muttering, "I don't believe it," so quietly that I almost didn't hear him, even though he was only inches away from me.

I had to look then. After all, what could cause a vampire to give up his prey? My eyes scanned the edge of the meadow, and landed on a huge black shape that was coming out of the dense line of trees.

The last thought I had before collapsing was, _It's not a bear. It's a wolf._

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**Jacob Black – ****Saturday, March 4, 2006**

Hunting vampires was the best part of being a werewolf, and there was a bloodsucker just ahead. I could smell his sickly sweet scent so strongly now.

Sam lead the way out of the trees—heading up our v-shaped formation—followed by Jared and Paul, then Embry and me. As I came out of the trees, I saw a human girl lying in the center of the meadow, bleeding from the neck. The leech took off running as soon as he saw us, but that fact hardly even registered as I recognized the bloodsucker's victim.

_Bella! Oh, God! Bella! I have to stay here! You four can take the leech. Meet me back here when you're done! _I cried, feeling panicked and helpless.

_Jacob! _Sam growled.

_No! I can't! I'm sorry, but she's my best friend! She needs help! You can take him yourselves. I'll be here when you get back, _I called firmly.

_Fine! _Sam growled back, unhappily.

As they took off, after the black-haired vampire, I sprinted over to Bella's side and phased back, not caring about the embarrassment of being _sans_ apparel.

"Bella! Bella, can you hear me?" I asked, in a tone bordering hysteria. Her eyes were clamped shut, and she didn't respond. I touched my hand to Bella's neck, and it was as it appeared—the leech had bit her! "Oh, God! We were too late! Oh, Bella!"

What was I supposed to do? I pressed my large palm to her wound, trying to stop the bleeding. As soon as I touched her, she began writhing in pain. She let out a blood-curdling scream, and I took my hand away from her neck. Was I was hurting her? If so, I didn't know if it was from the pressure or the mere fact that her wound was created by my enemy. Maybe her bloody gash was reacting with my skin. But when she kept thrashing, I decided to take my chances. If she was going to survive, the bleeding needed to be stopped.

I didn't know _anything_ about vampire transformations—which is what I assumed was happening. What could I do?! And then I realized that Bella knew the Cullens—maybe she knew something.

If she was even capable of speech.

Bella opened her eyes just enough to catch my gaze. "Jake?" she panted in anguish.

"Bells? Are you okay?" It was a stupid question.

"For a second. . . ." she struggled for a breath, and then moaned. "Oh . . . not again." Then she screamed something incomprehensible.

"Bella? Bella! You have to listen to me! The bloodsucker bit you, so you're turning into one of them, right?" But she didn't answer. "Right, Bella?"

"Yes," she gasped. She was obviously in unimaginable pain, but she was so strong.

"It's painful, then?" I asked dumbly.

She exhaled one breathy laugh. "It burns. Like fire."

"In your neck?"

"Everywhere." It was becoming harder for her to get the words out.

_What?!_

"How long does it last?" I asked, thoroughly panicked now.

"Three," she managed to get out, before wincing. I could tell she was trying to stay coherent for me.

"Hours," I stated, just to clarify.

"Days." Then she screamed again.

_Three DAYS?! _Was that even _possible_? I held her hand, as she convulsed, wondering if there was any way she could survive it.

_Can I? _

---

When the rest of the pack returned, Bella was crying, moaning, and letting out all-too-frequent piercing screams. My brothers made no move to phase back, which was a sure sign that Sam wanted me to phase. Except that if I changed now, Sam could forbid me to stay with Bella—and there would be nothing I could do to defy him. So I spoke to them instead.

"The bloodsucker bit her—I assume you got him?" The large black wolf—Sam—nodded a curt yes. "She said the transformation takes 3 days—that it burns like fire. I'm staying here with her. I'd appreciate some clothes." I realized that as a 12-day-old wolf, I was being especially defiant, but I refused to leave her. I turned back to Bella—my best friend. The girl I had hoped would become more. But _that_ was becoming even more impossible with every minute that passed.

"And what happens when she wakes up? She will be your natural enemy. She might attack you without any thought," Sam said. Apparently he had determined that I was unwilling to transform, and most likely the reason behind it. When I turned back to face him, the others were gone.

"She wouldn't do that—she's my best friend," I said, with less-than-perfect conviction. I had no idea what Bella would be like when she woke up. But surely she would know me, wouldn't she?

"She may be your best friend _now_, but when she wakes up, she will be a vampire." He spoke sympathetically, although he said nothing I didn't already know.

"She wouldn't attack me," I said with more force.

"When the Cullens first came to our area, they told our great-grandparents that they had gained control over their thirst. . . . It sounds to me like an acquired ability. One that takes a long time to master—maybe even years."

"They smell bad to us—do we smell as bad to them?"

"Yes."

"Well, perhaps that will be enough."

"She may not attack you for food, but she might attack you because you are an enemy. It will simply be in her nature."

I didn't know what to say to this. He had a point.

"Of course, it wouldn't be very difficult for us to restrain one small vampire if need be."

"Us?" Was he going to help me?

"We're a pack, Jacob—a family. We don't just hunt vampires, you know. We support each other, too."

"Thank you. . . ." I said, trailing off. "Are there any precautions we can take—will she be hungry when she wakes up?"

"I don't have any idea, but we could round up some animals for her, I suppose."

I raised my eyebrows. "How much do vampires drink?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, but I'd rather _over-_prepare."

I nodded, and turned back to Bella. "We're going to help you through this, Bells."

After a few moments, Sam interrupted my thoughts. "She won't be able to go back to her family—so what will we do about that?"

"Oh gosh," I exhaled. "I don't know—I can't think straight with her like this!" I paused, then sighed. "I love her, you know."

"Yeah, I know. But you _know_ her, too. We need your help planning."

"Okay," I nodded, trying to put myself together. "Okay. How can I help? Umm… Her truck will be parked on the side of the 110—where the pavement ends. When she doesn't come home, they'll start looking for her—they'll think she's missing like the other humans—that the 'bear' got her. They'll find her truck, but it's far from Forks, so maybe not for a couple of days. Although it's not as though there are two of those trucks in the state. It will be easy to spot."

"Okay. They'll want us to help search for her. How can we explain why you're not helping—if you're here with her—when you're her best friend?"

"Oh, gosh. We'll have to take turns with her, then—you and me and . . . do you think Embry can handle being with her? At least for an hour or so, while the search party gathers at her truck—while they put together a search plan? There's a trail that starts there—that leads away from here. Everyone will think Bella went that way. It shouldn't be hard to keep them away from here for a day or so—until it's over."

"That sounds sensible. I just hope it will work out when she's done changing. We should both be here—so we can restrain her if we need to. . . ."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. At least during the last day."

"Okay—I'm going to go get you some food and clothes. I'll be back later. We'll have to start taking turns tomorrow, I think, when Charlie really starts freaking out. Paul and Jared will have to keep up the hunt for the redhead during the day, then Embry and I can join them at night, when the search is suspended."

"The redhead! Oh, gosh! Maybe you should just tell Charlie I'm really sick for the next couple of days—then you can come back for the third day."

"If that's what you want to do."

"Yeah—we can't let the other bloodsucker get into Forks—even more people would be in danger."

"Okay. Charlie might not like you too much after this."

"No. He probably won't." Especially after the way I've been treating Bella lately. "But she needs me more than I need Charlie's good opinion. I just hope Billy doesn't get blamed."

"All right. I'll see you later today."

"Thank you, Sam," I added quietly, after a moment.

He didn't reply, and when I turned, he was gone.

Bella was still the same. Writhing and crying. Moaning and screaming. It broke my heart. And there was nothing I could do for her.

"I'm here, Bella. You're going to be okay." _I hope._ But she didn't seem capable of speech.

---

I felt more comfortable when I had clothes on. Sam brought two pairs, one pair of shoes, and a ton of granola bars, beef jerky, and fruit. It wasn't much for my large appetite, but I didn't exactly have a refrigerator or stove out here.

"She's starting to smell like them," he noted.

It had only been about 8 hours.

"A bit."

"I'm sorry we didn't make it in time."

"We got here as fast as we could." It wasn't his fault—wasn't any of our faults, really.

"Yeah, but I'm still sorry. I know what she means to you."

I just nodded. There was nothing to say.

"We'll see you in a couple of days. I hope everything works out okay."

"Me too."

---

The second day was worse, if that was even possible. I cursed my superior sense of hearing as I heard what could only be bones breaking. It sounded as if Bella was being broken into thousands of tiny pieces, a little at a time, and then being put back together again. Not to mention it had started pouring rain earlier that morning.

I had never thought to feel sorry for vampires before—enemy as they were—but this was torture. I thought changing into a werewolf was bad, but that hadn't taken very long at all—only a few hours. And, geez! She wasn't even unconscious! No, she could probably feel everything. Her voice was all but gone from all the screaming yesterday, but I could still hear her hoarse cries.

I hadn't slept in nearly 48 hours. I had tried to lay next to Bella, to keep her warm, since her body temperature was dropping—whether from the change or from the cold rain, I didn't know. She had screamed about fire, and I figured my 109°F body temperature probably wasn't helping matters. Every time I managed to nod off even a tiny bit, Bella would make a loud noise and I'd wake up. I felt bad even thinking about sleep, but I was only human. Or half human, anyway.

---

When Sam came the third day, he brought the whole pack with him. He told me that they'd spooked the redhead and she'd bolted. She wouldn't be back for a couple of days, at least. Embry took over watching Bella, because Sam insisted I get some sleep. I would need to be alert when she came out of this. So I ran, thankful that it had finally stopped raining, until it was quiet, but still within earshot, in case someone yelled for me. I lay down and slept.

---

When I awoke, I was disoriented. _Where am I? The forest?_

Then I heard a loud moan, and it all came rushing back to me. I ran as fast as I could without changing to wolf mode.

"How is she doing?" I asked Embry, anxiously, as soon as I stepped into the little meadow. A glance at my watch told me it had been about 70 hours. If Bella was right, it would be over fairly soon.

"I don't know how she's supposed to be doing, so I couldn't really tell you. She's still in pain, obviously, and her body is making really sickening noises. Her heart is slowing. And she smells really bad," he tried.

It made sense that her heart rate was slowing, since vamps didn't have one at all, but I hadn't really noticed the intensity of her smell until he pointed it out. "Oh. Yeah. It must be getting close. I'll take over." I sat down next to her and gently took her hand. She was getting very cold. I tried to sound comforting as I said, "It's almost over, Bells. It's been almost 3 days. Just a couple more hours."

I turned back to Embry. "Where are the others?"

"Gathering some animals. I need to go join them, but we'll be close, so yell when things start winding down."

"Okay. Thank you, Embry."

"No problem. She was a nice human—and she's getting even more beautiful."

I had been so worried about her, I hadn't really taken the time to look at her, but he was right. She was still Bella, but her body was becoming tighter—harder. Her hair was shinier, and her facial features were becoming more angular. And I noticed the strange, cool scar on her hand was gone.

She had always been beautiful to me, but now she was being subtly reshaped into perfection. _The better to attract her prey_, I thought sadly.

But the Cullens didn't hunt humans—and she had loved them—so perhaps she would want to adopt their lifestyle.

_What am I thinking?_ _Of course she will. She isn't a killer. No transformation could change that. Everything will be fine._

_I hope._

It was funny. I had learned very quickly to hate the Cullens over the first 12 days of my new life, but now their lifestyle brought me heretofore-unimaginable comfort.

---

The two hours had come and gone. I was starting to panic. Was something wrong? I hated that I had no idea. Bella's heart was still slowing. And she was _still_ in pain. I wished there was something—_anything_—I could do to ease her suffering. She'd already had enough for more than one lifetime.

Just as I was thinking this, I heard her heart rate plummet. I yelled for Sam. I kept imagining that Bella was hooked up to an EKG machine, and that her heart rate had flat-lined. Except her heart was still beating about once every 6 seconds. This had to happen—her heart _has_ to stop, right? _Right?_

And then, not five minutes later, Sam and I witnessed Bella's last heartbeat. And, _finally_, Bella's body stilled.


	3. Waking

**TOO LATE**

**by saranicole**

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**A/N - I'd just like to say that it is more fun to be WRITING cliffhangers than to be READING cliffhangers. MUCH more fun. **

**And thanks to everyone who reviewed! I feel SO LOVED today!**

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**Chapter Three – Waking**

**Jacob Black – Tuesday, March 7, 2006**

I waited, but Bella wasn't moving. She wasn't even _breathing_. I gave Sam a worried look, but he just shrugged. He didn't know any better than I did. I sat there for as long as I could bear to, then prompted: "Bella? Are you okay? Is the pain gone? Are you still alive?"

And, after what seemed like an eternity, she spoke, and I was finally able to let out the breath I had been holding.

"Not alive, no. I'm okay though . . . I think. The pain—" she breathed deeply. "I always thought they were exaggerating. But they weren't. I guess I should have known . . . after Phoenix. . . ."

By 'they', I assumed she meant the Cullens. And Phoenix? What did she mean by that? "It seemed pretty bad," I said, stating the ridiculously obvious.

"Yeah. Child birth can have nothing on that. . . ."

"Can you move?"

"I don't know. Let me see." And she popped up onto her feet with all the speed of a vampire. "Whoa!" And then, for the first time since her heart stopped, Bella opened her eyes.

Her bright _red_ eyes.

"Whoa."

"What? Oh, gosh! Sorry! That was super fast, wasn't it?" She paused. "What's going on? How do you even know what I am? You _do_ know, don't you?"

"Calm down, Bella. It's okay. We know about vampires—remember the legends?"

"Yeah, but you don't believe them!"

"I do now." I paused for a moment, then muttered, "It's hard not to, when you're a werewolf," under my breath. But with her now-superior hearing, she caught every word.

"A WHAT?!" she sat back down, hitting the ground hard.

"Werewolf," I repeated.

**

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****Bella Swan – Tuesday, March 7, 2006**

I just stared at him, stunned. Then the pieces started falling into place. I saw Sam out of my peripheral vision.

"Sam. The gang. You're not a gang—you're a . . . a pack." But the bear—well, wolf, really. Wolves. They had been killing people!

"But, Jacob! All those people! How could you do this to them?" I exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, seeming genuinely confused.

"All those missing campers!"

"We told them to stay out of the forest. If they had just listened, they'd stop disappearing."

"Jake!"

"What? It's the truth," he said wryly.

"How can you _feel_ that way?!" I demanded.

"What more can we do?" he asked simply.

"I don't know . . . but if vampires can survive without killing people, can't werewolves, too?" I pleaded.

"Killing people? Seriously, what are you talking about?"

"All those missing people—those campers—that you guys . . . well, killed. . . ."

He started to laugh riotously.

"Jacob Black!" I scolded. "This is _not_ funny!" I couldn't believe him!

"Bella! Bella, calm down! We're not the ones killing them!"

"What do you mean?"

"Remember what we call ourselves? _Protectors_?"

"Who are you 'protecting' them from?"

"Bella, honey, we only protect people from one thing—our one enemy. It's the reason we exist—because they do."

I stared at him blankly for one second before I understood: Vampires. Me. But _I _wasn't the one killing people.

Then it hit me.

"Laurent?" I demanded. "Laurent was killing all those people?"

"Who's Laurent?"

"The vampire who bit me."

"Oh—the black-haired leech? Umm . . . vampire. Sorry. That was his name?"

"Yeah."

"No, he's gone," he contradicted.

"Gone, but how—" I was confused.

"One lone vampire is hardly a match for a pack our size," he replied, as if it were obvious.

"He's dead?" I asked, shocked.

"Yeah—you knew him?"

"I met him once, last year. I thought he'd . . . changed diets. But apparently not. . . ."

"No, apparently not. But we got him. Now we just have to get the other one—his mate."

"But Laurent doesn't have a mate." I paused. "Unless . . ." Oh, gosh. My eyes went wide. "What does she look like?"

"Bright red hair?"

"Victoria," I breathed, my fears coming true.

"Who? Bella—are you okay?"

"She isn't his mate, just . . . an old friend."

"How do you know?" he asked, confused.

"Laurent told me that James was her mate."

"Did he tell you anything else? This is important, Bella. Do you know what she wants?" he asked, seriously.

"Of course," I explained quietly. "She wants _me_."

Sam piped in at this point. "You? Why?" he demanded.

"Edward killed James. She got pissed off, but she thought it was fairer to kill me. Mate for mate." I paused, smiling sadly. "She doesn't know that things aren't like that anymore. Not for Edward, anyway. . . ."

"Is that why the Cullens left?" Jacob asked harshly.

I shrugged weakly, then gave a small nod.

"Why did Edward kill James?" Sam asked, curiously—surprised, I think, that he would have killed one of his own—our own—kind.

"Because James was trying to kill me. It was a game for him." I fingered the skin on my hand where my scar had been.

Jacob must have seen this, because he asked, cautiously, "Bella—that scar on your hand—the cold one . . . ?"

"It's what you think it was. James got _very_ close. In Phoenix."

Sam and Jake exchanged a look.

"He bit you? Then why weren't you changed then?"

"Edward sucked the venom out, like a snake bite. Not before the fire started, but before it could spread." I looked at Jacob. "I told you he saved my life. We thought it was best _not_ to tell people I was recovering from a vampire attack. A lot of good _that_ did me. Here I am, a year later. . . ." I shrugged. "I don't much care for Spring Break anymore."

There was a lull in the conversation, and an incredibly strong feeling came over me.

"Oh. My. _Gosh_." I exclaimed, and grabbed my throat.

"What?!" Jake asked, worried again.

"They weren't kidding about the thirst either!" I croaked. "Geez! I feel like I'm about to die of dehydration! Like I've been lost in the Sahara for months!"

"Oh, right," Jake responded. "I forgot." He turned to Sam and asked, "Do the boys have everything ready for her?" Then, when Sam nodded, "Where are they?"

"About 5 miles that way—there was another clearing."

"Okay. Bella—we gathered some animals for you—"

"You _did_?"

"Yeah. If you will follow us? Sam?"

Then Sam took off, pretty fast, followed by Jacob. I imagined they were faster in wolf form, or they never could have caught Laurent. I felt like I could have run twice as fast as we were going. But I didn't care—I was just glad I wasn't tripping over my own feet! I was actually _graceful_!

As we neared the clearing, and I was overcome by the scent of blood. I could see four deer, two elk, a small bear, and six rabbits. _Rabbits?_

Without having to be prompted, my instincts took over. I ran after the most appetizing scent, which ended up being the bear. I snapped its neck and drained in a surprisingly short amount of time. I followed that up with the two elk and two deer, before I felt satiated. Well, not _completely_ satiated. The tofu analogy wasn't a bad one. It was as if I was craving red meat, but could only eat salad . . . without any dressing. But at least I wasn't dying of thirst anymore.

It was then that I realized there were several malodorous things in the vicinity. When I tried to locate where the stench was coming from, I only saw Jake, Sam, and three other Quileute boys.

"You boys don't smell very good. . . ."

"Neither do you!" one of the boys shot back, harshly.

"Paul," Sam berated him.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

After a quick introduction, we ran back to the meadow. During the run, I thought about plans for my future. I couldn't go back to Forks, obviously. I hadn't been around humans yet, but if my thirst for animal blood was this strong, there was no way on earth I could handle being around humans. Not unless I wanted to be responsible for the deaths of a whole lot of people—most of whom I would probably know.

But what was I going to do? Where was I going to go? Somewhere remote. Somewhere I could get a handle on my thirst, as well as my new super-human senses. Ideally, I'd have other vampires to help. . . .

Oh, duh. Of course.

I knew what I had to do.

I'd just need a _little_ help from Jacob.


	4. Travels

**TOO LATE**

**by saranicole**

* * *

**A/N – This won't have any spoilers, I promise. But I just came home checked the mail to see if Harry Potter 7 had been delivered. It was right there in my mail box! (Darn it! I didn't get it for free…) Anyway, I don't know how many of you ordered HP7 off but THE BOX IS SO CUTE!!! It says: "****Attention Muggles – Do not deliver or open before July 21!****" Hahahahaha! Isn't that the BEST?? I about died laughing. I haven't opened the box yet, even though it will be July 22 in about an hour… I have 50 pages of another book to finish first. And my mom's flying in tomorrow to help us pack, so I have to clean the house (so she doesn't think I'm a slob…) … I haven't done laundry or dishes in a while, because I've been writing this fanfic:)**

**Anyway, so I'm SO EXCITED that everyone seems to like the story… or at least everyone who's reviewed. I did get one (anonymous) comment about how Bella should have THOUGHT about her insatiable thirst, instead of just **_**telling**_** Jacob and Sam about it. It's true. You're right. I just **_**love**_** dialogue. And I tend to make Bella more like **_**me **_**than I should—and I talk A LOT… and don't think before I say things, so… Bella was simply having a Sara Moment. :) I'll try to do better in the future!**

**I ALSO got a comment about Bella's power. Already. Oh, honey. Just you wait. It's going to be a while before you find out anything regarding that. So be patient. I promise that I **_**will**_** address that subject! Just not yet.**

* * *

**Chapter Four – Travels**

**Bella Swan – Tuesday, March 7, 2006**

"Jake? I'm going to need you to do a couple of things for me, if you could," I said, suddenly.

"Sure, Bells."

"Do you have a pen and paper? I'll make a list for you." He grabbed a backpack that was sitting near where my change had occurred, and pulled out a little notebook and pen. He handed me the pen, and it immediately snapped under my now superior strength. "Whoops. On second thought, you'd better do the writing."

"Okay, what do you need?"

"I need to you go to my room and get some things." I very carefully pulled the keys out of my pocket. "I need a couple changes of clothes—not much or Charlie could notice. 4 shirts, 2 pairs of pants, and sorry, I need underclothing as well. An extra bra and 4 pairs of underwear. 4 pairs of socks. A belt.

"In my underwear drawer, I have a stash of money rolled up in a sock. My passport is in the top desk drawer. My wallet is in the glove compartment of my truck, which is where the pavement ends on the 110—you know the spot. Do you think you can get it?"

"I haven't seen the truck situation—Sam?"

"Yeah, you shouldn't have a problem. I don't think anyone found it yet."

"Anything else?" Jacob asked.

"A few extra ponytail holders. Don't grab anything too big or noticeable. No hair brush, no toothbrush, no coat. It's going to be suspicious enough if anyone notices my passport is gone. I shouldn't even take my own duffle bag. Do you have an extra?"

"Yeah, it's kind of old though."

"That's fine." Except it might rain or I may need to swim. "Is it waterproof?"

"No."

"Grab me like 5 or 6 big garbage bags then. They're under the kitchen sink." I paused, trying to determine what else I'd need for my trip. "Can you think of anything else?"

"Sunglasses," he answered immediately.

"What? I'll be traveling by night. Vampires glitter in the sun, after all. I can't risk that."

"You haven't seen your eyes."

"What?" I asked, confused.

"They're _bright red_, Bella."

"Red?"

"Like . . . candy-cane red."

"Okay. Sunglasses then. I haven't used mine since Phoenix, but they're in the top drawer of my computer desk, too. I doubt Charlie will notice they're gone. I don't think he's even seen them before." And speaking of my physical appearance, "And a mirror. There's a small compact in my bathroom stuff in my room. And then, grab any other small things you think I might need."

"Okay, is that it?"

"No, I need help getting somewhere, but," I turned to the four other boys, "I'd like it if only Jacob knew where I was going. Just in case."

Sam nodded, understandingly. "That's smart. Although we need to talk about some other things, still."

"Of course. I have to disappear, obviously. I assume from Jacob's truck comment that Charlie is flipping out and there are already people looking for me, and that they already found my truck. How is the search going?"

"We've been subtly, but firmly, suggesting that people search along the trail that starts near your truck. It hasn't been difficult. People don't take you for much of a hiker. And clearly, you're not anywhere near there. You don't have to worry about them finding you before you're ready to leave."

"When they can't find me, they'll assume I was attacked by the 'bear'. How long will I have to be missing before I am presumed dead?" I asked.

Sam answered, "I'm not sure, exactly. As long as people are willing to keep looking, I'd think. Not more than two or three weeks, maybe four."

"I hate to keep everyone hanging for so long—especially Charlie—but that's the best option. I can't get my truck back, so that rules out driving off a cliff or into a river. And my body can't be found, of course. Poor Charlie though. And Renée. This is going to kill them. . . ."

"I'm sorry, Bella." Jacob replied, softly. "We'll comfort Charlie as much as we can."

"Thank you. That means the world to me."

He nodded.

"Well, that takes care of my death and my travel items. Is there anything else?"

"No, that was it," Sam answered.

"Then that just leaves maps—which is the part for Jacob." I smiled over at him, then turned back to Sam. "Sam, thank you so much for all your help. I know this probably wasn't on your list of priorities, especially with Victoria on the loose, but I appreciate everything you've done for me. I can't tell you where I'm going, but I will be far from humans—somewhere where I can learn to control my new . . . _appetite_." I smiled apologetically. "I hope that someday, I'll be able to live among humans again, like the Cullens do. Maybe even finish high school."

He smiled at that. "Good luck, Bella. I'm sorry we couldn't get to you a few moments earlier."

I shook my head. "It's not your fault. I've always been a magnet for danger. I just have to try to make the best of this," I said aloud. Silently, I was wondering if this was always meant to be—if I was always destined to be a vampire.

And with that, the four other werewolves took off.

---

When we were alone, Jacob asked, "Okay, where are you going?"

"There's another coven of animal-drinkers up in Alaska. Denali, Alaska. Write that down: D-E-N-A-L-I. I'm going to need maps. And not just MapQuest maps. I'm not going to be taking roads. I'm going to need political maps, topographical maps, road maps. I need them zoomed in, so I can see all the tiny towns. If you go to my house and get the money out of my drawer, you can use whatever you need to make copies. Then, I'm going to need your help mapping out a course—one that stays as far from civilization as possible. I don't care if I have to climb straight over the peak of a mountain. Like I said, I'm going to be traveling at night, so the sun won't be an issue—and with my new speed, hopefully I'll be able to make it there fairly quickly. I don't know exactly where in Denali is in Alaska."

"We'll find you a way."

"The hard part is going to be getting out of Washington. . . . Unless I swim."

"Swim?" he asked, baffled.

"That's why I need the garbage bags."

"You're not _seriously_ going to swim," he stated, disbelievingly.

"Just until I get to Canada. There's not an easy way out of Washington if I have to cross the I-5. I'd have to swing all the way down and around Olympia then run through the Cascade Mountains for forever. It would be easier to get to the coast and swim to Vancouver Island, then go north from there. Trust me, Jake. It will work."

"Okay. If you say so. Vampires _are_ good in the water."

"Okay. Go get all that stuff. Meet me here as soon as you can. If Sam and Embry want to . . . keep watch over me, that would probably for the best. Just in case one of those searchers gets too far off the beaten path. I should be okay until they get here."

"Okay. I'll see you soon, Bella."

"Thank you, Jacob. I couldn't do this without you."

And he was gone.

Sam and Embry showed up twenty minutes later. By ten that night, I was thirsty again. Not as bad as last time, but I was getting cranky. They took me out hunting—which wasn't as easy, since the animals had all scattered. But we managed to find enough to satisfy my immediate needs. I was going to need to hunt a lot on the way to Denali. Jacob and I would have to take that into consideration when we were plotting my course.

Jacob was back my dawn. Sam and Embry went home to rest. I envied them. Already, I missed sleeping. Although with the way dreams—nightmares—had been lately, perhaps this was for the best. I felt tired, and I was sure the dark circles under my eyes were very pronounced.

By 1:00 pm, we had a route planned out.

Sam, Jake, and Embry would accompany me to the coast, between Neah Bay and Sekiu, from which point I would swim perpendicular to the coastline over to Vancouver Island, hopefully ending up far away from Port Renfrew. Then I would head northwest, through the middle of Vancouver Island, swim across the Queen Charlotte Strait over to mainland British Columbia. I'd travel mostly parallel to the coastline, dodging the coastal cities, so I could keep better track of where I was. I knew that distances would mean very little to me. There was a Canadian highway numbered 16, which then turned into 37, which I would travel parallel to, until I found the larger highway—the 1. I would run parallel to the 1, until I got close to Tok, Alaska, when I would head straight west. Denali was, fortunately, in the middle of nowhere—in the center of a large loop of roads. The road leading to it, appropriately named Denali Highway, was actually closed during the winter. We agreed that if I could get into the general area, there shouldn't be any humans around.

The plan was a very simple one. I had no idea how long the trip would take, because I didn't really know how fast I could run, especially over mountains and through snow. The only reference point I could think of was that last year, Emmett had been able to keep up with my truck. But I had no idea how fast I could swim.

I would hunt as often as possible—any time I could—as a precaution. With any luck, I'd be there by this time next week.

And I would leave tonight—in just 8 hours—at 9:00 pm.

**

* * *

****Bella Swan – Wednesday, March 8, 2006**

Jake, Sam, Embry, and I were standing on the low cliffs at the extreme north of Washington. Sam and Embry had moved away, giving Jake and me a moment alone.

It was very difficult to say goodbye to Jacob. But I was glad I would have one friend from my old life who knew what really happened to me.

"I'm going to miss you, Bella Swan."

"I'll miss you, too, Jacob Black." I hugged him tightly. "Thank you for not leaving me alone. There wasn't much you could do, but having you there—knowing I wasn't alone—really helped."

"I couldn't leave you, Bella." He reached forward and tucked a piece of loose hair behind my ear, and looked at me very intensely. "I love you."

I couldn't exactly return the sentiment—not the way he meant it, but I meant what I _did_ say. "You mean _so_ much to me."

He leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. I suppose that with my new speed, I could have stopped him, or turned my head, at least, but I didn't. He needed it, and I knew we would never see each other again, anyway. It was a goodbye kiss.

"Bye, Bells."

"Bye, Jake. I hope I see you again someday."

I stared at him for a few more seconds, and then swung my duffle bag, which was wrapped in two garbage bags, over my shoulder, and jumped.

**---**

I wasn't a very religious person, but I prayed now, as I began to swim. I prayed _very_ hard that I'd be able to make it to Denali without any human casualties.

I had a close call near the Khutzeymateen River, in British Columbia. I caught the tiniest whiff of what _may_ have been human—perhaps a forest ranger—but, fortunately, I was in the middle of the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary, and very close to one of the bear caves. I stopped breathing immediately, and ran, full speed, toward the cave.

I felt bad about killing a hibernating grizzly, especially in their "sanctuary," where hunting was, without a doubt, prohibited, but I believe that even the forest ranger would have forgiven me. After all, it was either him or the bear. I drank quickly, held my breath, and ran about ten miles before finally exhaling.

Other than that, it all went fairly smoothly. The days passed quickly. Jacob had thought to grab my _Complete Works of Jane Austen_, which I truly appreciated. If I couldn't sleep, at least I could read my favorite stories. I was able to find animals to prey on without too much trouble, and I made it to Alaska by the sixth night, and inside the highway loop by midnight. When I got there, I took some time to look at the incredible mountain range directly to the west, with one peak jutting far above the rest. It was probably a good 75 miles away, but my eyesight was much better than it had been when I was human. The sight was magnificent, with the peak poking so high it disappeared into the clouds. I was excited to be able to spend time here.

It took me a while to find the coven, because I didn't know exactly where they were, and the area I had to search was about 400 square miles. Not to mention the snow was between 2 and 4 feet deep over the entire area, not including the snowdrifts. By dawn, I found the only house in the area—one that had a distinctly vampire-like smell.

I stopped and prayed again. I prayed that they would accept me into their home and be willing to teach me to control myself.

And that they would like me.


	5. Denali

**TOO LATE**

**by saranicole**

* * *

**A/N – I'm having a really hard time trying to want to read Harry Potter 7. I'd rather update this story, honestly…. But before I do that, I must say the following:**

**We know VERY little about the members of the Denali coven (Tanya, Kate, Irina, Carmen, and Eleazar): Tanya, Kate, and Irina are sisters from Slovakia, circa 1005. Carmen and Eleazar are spouses/mates from Spain, circa 1655. Kate and Eleazar both have 'talents' or powers. We also know that Alice refers to them as "Tanya's family" (NM, 393) and "Tanya and her family" (NM, 401), indicating that either Tanya is the leader (this is true in my mind, at least), or Tanya is Alice's favorite (which could very well also be true). Anything outside this (personalities, physical appearance, etc.) is all speculation.**

**Because this story is already stretching my creative abilities, I created VERY basic profiles of each of the members. (This included descriptions of hair, height/build, age, and whether or not the person is talented.) So, I'll make reference at the beginning of this chapter about how each of the characters has such-and-such a color hair or whatever, but it really doesn't matter, because I'll be referring to the Denali characters by name, not physical description. I'm not even sure why I felt the need to assign hair colors to each person…**

**Again, from the Twilight Lexicon, we know that Kate and Eleazar both have 'talents', **_**but**_** it was hard enough coming up with a clever and original power for BELLA! (There—I told you she has a power. That was more than I said last chapter!) If I had to take a WILD guess, I'd say Kate had some sort of power over other people's dreams (hence the succubus legends), but as for Eleazar, I haven't a clue in the world. So we're just going to pretend his talent either doesn't exist, or makes no difference to the story. I didn't mention it or Kate's power at all.**

**Anyway, that was very long, but I felt it needed to be said. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Five – Denali**

**Bella Swan – Tuesday, March 14, 2006**

Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door. A beautiful woman about my height, with long, wavy, light brown hair opened the door.

"Hello, dear," she greeted, seeming surprised. I didn't know if it was because I managed to find them in the middle of nowhere, or if it was because my eyes were red. "My name is Tanya. Would you like to come in out of the cold?" Her manner was very warm and inviting—she reminded me of Esme.

"Yes, thank you."

She led me to a beautifully decorated living room and motioned for me to take a seat. I chose a comfortable-looking chair, placing my bag at my feet.

"Kate? Irina? Carmen? Eleazar?" she called, only a little louder than she had spoken to me. "Come down, please. We have a guest!"

She introduced them one by one, as they came into the room. Kate had long auburn hair, while Irina's was a dark blonde. Carmen's hair was curly and dark brown, almost the same shade as mine, but longer. And Eleazar, Carmen's husband, had black hair that was a bit too long for modern fashion. From where I was sitting, the women all looked to be about my height—Carmen was the tallest, and Kate the shortest, with Tanya and Irina in between. Eleazar looked about 5 or 6 inches taller than his wife was. All of them were very beautiful, though Kate was probably the most so.

They all sat down around the coffee table—Carmen and Eleazar together on a loveseat and the three sisters on a long couch. When everyone was seated, Tanya continued. "Welcome to our home! We weren't expecting anyone, especially since it is winter, but what brings you all the way out here?"

"Well, I was changed just last week—" Tanya's eyebrows raised. "—and I knew I would need help if I was to have any hope at all of controlling my thirst. I knew that if I stayed by myself, I wouldn't be able to stop myself from killing a human. This was the only place I knew I could come."

"You've only been a vampire for a week, and already you've heard of us?" Eleazar asked, intrigued. "Did the one who changed you tell you about us?"

"Not exactly. . . . Actually, he's dead." I paused, before turning to Irina. "It was Laurent. I'm sorry. He told me he liked you very much."

Irina looked saddened, but not heartbroken. They all looked sad. Tanya urged me to continue, "What happened?"

"I was out in the woods, and he was hunting. . . ." I shook my head and muttered, "I'm always in the wrong place and the wrong time," before continuing. "He bit me, but then the werewolves showed up before he could finish me off—"

"Werewolves?" Irina interrupted.

I nodded. "It's a long story, but yes—werewolves. They're the ones who killed him—because he attacked a human—me."

"Why would Laurent tell you about us if he intended to kill you?" Eleazar asked, still curious as to how I knew where they were.

I shook my head. "He didn't."

"Then how . . . ?" Carmen prompted.

"I know . . ." I took a deep breath, "I knew the Cullens."

I could see all of their eyes widen, thanks to my new and incredible vision, and Tanya asked, urgently, "What is your _name_?"

"Oh, sorry! I thought I told you. My name is Isabella Swan—Bella."

I thought their eyes were wide before, but it had been nothing compared to now. They all stared at me for about ten seconds before anyone broke the silence.

"I have to call Carlisle!" Tanya exclaimed, suddenly.

"No!" I cried, rather abruptly, and then took a moment to calm myself before continuing. "I'd really rather you didn't."

"Whyever not? The Cullens will be—"

"I don't want them to know. Trust me, please. It's best that they don't find out."

"Why?"

I sighed, and began to explain. I started from the beginning—with how I'd fallen in love with Edward, and thought he had loved me. I told them about James and Victoria and Phoenix. Then I skipped ahead to my birthday and the days following. I told them, briefly, about what my life had been like without Edward, but focused more on how I'd become best friends with Jake, who'd turned out to be a werewolf. And I told them about the day in the woods, my change, and my travels. "So, you see—I don't want to burden the Cullens with this. They might blame themselves for leaving me in Forks alone. Especially Edward. He always blames himself for everything, and I don't want him to feel like this is his fault."

"And you're sure you don't want us to trying calling them?"

"Yes, very sure. Please promise not to tell them—all of you?"

"We promise," they all said together. When they had said this, my anxiety went down a few notches.

"So, is it all right if I stay with you? Just for a little while—until I learn to control my instincts a bit better? Then I'll leave you in peace."

"Bella, you may stay as long as you wish to," Tanya answered, kindly. I could tell she really meant it. "Follow me and I'll show you to your new room."

I followed her up a flight of stairs and down a long hall to a beautiful room with cream-colored walls. It was furnished simply, with a queen-sized bed with navy bedding, a large, dark wooden dresser, and two matching side tables on either side of the bed. There was also a window seat built into a large bay window which faced west, toward the mountains.

"The view is beautiful! The mountains are so huge! And I thought _Forks_ was different from Phoenix, but this is magnificent!"

"Yes—that one," she pointed to the tallest peak, "is Mt. McKinley. It's actually called Denali by some people."

"As in Mt. McKinley, the tallest mountain in the United States?"

"In all of North America, actually."

"Wow! It's . . . awe-inspiring. How high is the peak?"

"20,320 feet."

"Oh my _gosh_. That's almost four _miles_ high."

"Yes. . . . Perhaps we will take you to climb it sometime."

"That would be amazing! I would love to see the world from up there."

She smiled warmly at me. "Well, I'll leave you to settle in and clean up."

"Thank you so much, Tanya. I truly appreciate everything you're doing for me."

"You're more than welcome, Bella," she replied, and closed the door behind her.

I didn't have much to unpack—in fact, except one outfit, all my clothes were dirty from traveling—so I didn't bother putting them away. Instead, I looked for a bathroom. There were two doors other than the one Tanya had gone through, so I checked behind those. Behind door number one, there was a huge walk-in closet. _I won't have to worry about running out of closet space_, I thought sarcastically.

I found what I was looking for behind door number two. The bathroom was large and white—the walls, tub, sinks, toilet, and floor; the countertop was a light gray. But all the towels and decorative knick-knacks were the same navy blue as in the bedroom. I peaked behind the shower curtain to find it was already stocked with shampoos, conditioners, and other amenities.

I turned the water on as hot as it would go, went out and grabbed my last clean outfit, then looked in the full-length mirror in the bathroom. Jake had brought me the compact I requested, but that was just a circular mirror about 3 inches in diameter. I had mostly only seen my startlingly red eyes, which I hadn't particularly wanted to dwell on.

But when I looked in _this_ mirror, I was shocked by what I saw. I was beautiful, if somewhat grimy from having spent the last week outdoors. My hair was still in a ponytail, but my face was so altered—and yet not. There wasn't any _huge _change, but my features were more prominent, somehow—sharper and straighter. I had lost the last of my remaining baby fat from my cheeks, making my cheekbones more pronounced. But other than that, even _I _couldn't pick out _exactly _what had changed. My figure was slightly thinner—I had lost my non-muscular softness, and somehow now had rock-hard abs. (Well, okay, the rock-hard thing wasn't too hard to fathom. I had rock-hard _everything_ now. . . .) The truly amazing thing was that all of my scars were gone. And I had a _lot _of scars—mainly on my knees, legs, elbows, and arms—from all the falling, tripping, and running into things I had done as a human. Even the crescent-shaped scar on my hand was gone.

I spent about 45 minutes in the shower—washing and scrubbing the grime from my hair and body, then just enjoying the heat of the water. And thinking. I wished that I could cry. Crying always helped me purge my body of emotions, and I needed to do that. After all, I would never see my parents again, and I needed to get all of the mixed feelings out of my system.

But there were other ways to do this. I'd have to write in a journal—write them goodbye letters I could never send. That would help.

I got out of the shower, dried off, and put on my clothes—jeans and a shirt Alice had bought me. When I had seen it in the duffle bag Jake had packed, I almost didn't want it—it was painful to think about. But now I was glad to have something—anything—to remember them by.

I left my hair down to dry naturally and went downstairs, in hopes of finding someone to talk to. I found Kate watching a special on the travel channel about South Korea. They were talking about the country's food when I walked in.

She heard me coming and turned. "Bella! I didn't tell you before, but I am _so_ excited to finally know you. I have heard _so _many things about you, but to meet you in person? It's so exciting!"

It had been obvious from their initial reception of me that they had heard my name, but what _all_ had she heard?

"You've heard about me?"

"Well, of course! Alice adores you . . . and Edward . . ." she added, the slightest touch of jealousy in her voice. "Well, I still remember his visit when you first moved to Forks. I'd never seen him so . . . well, so altered."

Right _now_ seemed like a very good time for a change of subject. I might be a vampire now, and I may not have need for a beating heart or working lungs, but that certainly didn't stop the pain now building in my chest.

"Kate?" I asked quickly, before she could go on. "I was actually wondering if I could get a tour of the house. And I need to wash my clothes, if that's okay."

"Oh, of course. Consider everything of ours to be yours as well. She took me to the laundry room, and handed me an extra basket. I ran up to my room, grabbed everything I wasn't wearing, including the very bloody t-shirt and sweatshirt from my transformation, and ran back downstairs. Fortunately, I already knew a couple of tricks to get out bloodstains. I had a lot of experience with that as a human. I just hoped my new friends had what I needed.

When Kate saw me with such a small amount of clothing, she exclaimed, "Please, Bella: tell me that isn't everything you brought with you."

"Umm . . . yeah, it is, actually. It was all I could get before I left. I didn't want anyone to suspect that there were things missing. I wanted people to think I had died, not run away."

"Okay, that's smart," she conceded. "Don't you worry—Irina and I will go down Anchorage tomorrow and get you some more things."

"Thank you. Do you have any hydrogen peroxide? Or baking soda? Most of my clothes have blood on them from hunting."

"No, but we have something that will do the trick quite nicely." She pulled out some kind of laundry detergent I'd never seen before and explained. "This is the stuff doctors use to get stains out of their scrubs. It works wonders! You just have to soak the clothes in it for a half hour—" She looked down at the clothes in the basket, seeing the shirt I'd been wearing when Laurent bit me. "Or maybe an hour—before you start the wash cycle." She showed me how to set the washing machine, which was _much_ nicer and more complicated than the one Charlie had, then gave me the full tour of the house.

---

The next day, Kate and Irina came back from Anchorage with about 20 huge bags of clothing, including a _parka_. _As if I need that_. But Kate saw me eyeing it suspiciously and explained, "It's for appearances. People would think you were crazy if you went out in 3 feet of snow without one, after all!" She had a good point. Not that I'd be going anywhere _near_ humans any time soon.

"This is too much. You _REALLY _shouldn't have."

"Bella, you didn't have _anything_! And it's not everyday you get to buy an entirely new wardrobe! Besides, Alice gives us great stock tips. Those shares of Microsoft we bought at rock-bottom prices are doing quite well, I believe. And Google. . . . Alice says they have plans to buy YouTube not too long from now. . . ."

My eyes bulged and she laughed. "I guess you're not exactly strapped for cash, then. . . ."

"Not exactly. Oh! But this isn't everything!" She pulled a small cell phone out of a small bag she was still holding and handed it to me. "I programmed all our numbers into it—so you can reach us at any time. Oh, and these," she continued, pulling another box out of bag. "I got a few different colors. I hope they fit."

I opened the box to find several pairs of colored contacts: dark blue, medium brown, dark brown, and black. I tried them on in a mirror Irina had gone to her bathroom to get. My eyes were too red in both pairs of brown lenses, and too purple with the blue lenses. Black it was. It was better than red though.

"The blue ones will look better when your eyes start to darken. I thought they'd be fun. And the brown ones—you'll be able to use those after your change, if you want to blend in more. It's amazing how much light golden eyes stick out. I have a pair of dark brown ones myself, actually."

"Kate, why _are_ my eyes red, anyway?"

"You don't know?" she asked, seeming amazed that I didn't know. I shook my head, and she answered. "It's because you have so much human blood in your body—your own blood. It usually takes about a year for a new vampire's body to use all the blood up. Although it depends a little on the amount of blood you lost during the change. I've never heard of less than 11 months though."

"A year?" I sighed.

"Well, the human body does contain about six _quarts_ of blood, after all—and combined with the almost daily hunting a new vampire does. . . . It's kind of like fat storage in a humans—their bodies only burn excess fat when they're not receiving enough from what the person is eating, or when they are working out a lot."

"So, if I starved myself . . ." I _really_ wanted to get rid of this awful eye color.

"Ha! Good luck gaining control _that_ way. Look at it this way Bella—it's going to take about that long before you can really be around humans anyway. Just be patient—and wear the contacts."

"I just had no idea—I knew a little about the change, but apparently not everything."

"Yes, well. One never thinks to ask about the minute details until they become pertinent."

---

The next two months seemed to fly by. We hunted a _lot_. And my quest for control began almost immediately. It wasn't too difficult to gain control of my new speed and strength, but as for my thirst. . . . Different members of the family (and never less than 3 at a time) would take me out hunting. They would begin teaching me once I was completely full. The training went something like this: We would creep slowly toward a small human town until I couldn't control myself any longer, then two of my friends would restrain me, drag me to some poor animal the third person had caught, and have me drink its blood, instead of the poor human's.

I knew after the first day that what I'd experienced in the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary wasn't a human after all. I might never know what it had been. Maybe a forest ranger's shirt that had some days-old blood on it.

I could tell how difficult this was going to be when I hadn't made any real progress during the entire first month. I felt so ashamed each day, when I just couldn't control myself. I was gaining much greater respect for all the vegetarian vampires I knew—especially for Jasper. I completely understood the struggle now. And it must have been even harder for him to resist human blood after having gone nearly a century without restraint. I only hoped I could gain as much control as he had. It would be miracle.

But thoughts of Carlisle brought me hope. If a vampire could become a _doctor_, then surely I could learn to simply live around humans. _Right?_


	6. Motion

**TOO LATE**

**by saranicole**

* * *

**A/N – Switch:)**

* * *

**Chapter Six – Motion**

**Edward Cullen – ?**

If it were possible for a vampire to get a cramp, my entire body would have cramped a long time ago. I had been in this exact position for . . . well . . . I wasn't quite sure, actually.

But I was wearing down. My resolve was waning. I was starting to forget why I had left her in the first place. Well, no. I hadn't _forgotten_, but my own selfish desires were starting to eclipse those reasons. It was nearly unbearable to be without her.

I had one last spurt of conscience just before sitting down against the wall and wrapping my arms around my knees, hugging my legs firmly to me—the position I was in now. One last thread of determination before I caved in completely.

My last brilliant strategy was borrowed from Sir Isaac Newton—his first law: "An object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an external and unbalanced force." Or, more importantly, its counterpart: "An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an external and unbalanced force."

With the seeming stroke of genius, I rationalized that if I stayed completely still, maybe Newton would come through for me—maybe I could remain at rest. Because I knew that if I kept moving, my body would go straight toward the airport—toward Forks—toward Bella.

And I had been sitting here, perfectly still, ever since. Perfectly still and perfectly alone. Excruciatingly alone. In an old, dark, dank attic. In Brazil.

I had come here in my sad attempt to track Victoria. I didn't think she would been a problem, but she _had_ gone along with James's scheme to kill the woman I love, which was unacceptable. Not to mention I needed _something_ to do to take my mind off Bella. It was a precaution. But when I had gotten here to Brazil, I couldn't find a trace of Victoria. Not a hint of her scent—not anyone who'd seen a woman with startlingly red hair. Nothing.

And then I had seen a girl—just from behind—whose hair looked so similar to Bella's that I actually ran over to look at her face—just to check. I knew it wasn't her even before I saw the girl's blue eyes—her scent was all wrong. Not to mention that Bella would have no reason to come here. She wasn't exactly the Spring-Break party-in-Rio type. But even so, the incident threw me into a serious depression.

Not that I wasn't in one previously. I was already completely miserable. But at least before, I was able to spend a portion of my day tracking—a portion of my mind, my thoughts, dedicated to some purpose other than wallowing in my voluntary exile.

But now, with no Victoria—with no idea where she might have gone—I had let the waves of pain wash over and drown me.

But that wasn't the best part: that day with the girl that I, in my madness, mistook for Bella? It had been February 14th. Cruel, cruel irony.

And now the only thoughts that went through my mind—the only memories that played on the backs of my eyelids—were of Bella.

Bella: the only woman I would ever love. The only woman I _could _ever love. The woman whose heart I had broken, along with my own.

While I was sitting here, I had let every moment I had ever spent with Bella play through my thoughts, over and over again. From that very first day, when we'd made eye contact across the cafeteria, our first "date" in Port Angeles, the meadow, Phoenix, prom, the glorious summer we'd spent together, her 18th birthday. Her birthday party. That awful day in the woods. And every moment in between.

I had been so engulfed in my memories and thoughts and emotions that time had ceased to have meaning. Until now.

I was in the attic of a tiny, abandoned building on the outskirts of old Rio. I would hear people walk by occasionally, but I hardly even noticed—and I certainly wasn't listening to their thoughts. Until now. A young man, whose father owned the dilapidated store down on the corner, had come into the shop, bubbling with excitement; in his thoughts, he was shouting for joy. I nearly moved—wanting to cringe away from the emotion that was so completely opposite what I was feeling.

But I was curious. After all, what did a poor shop-owner's son have to be so happy about?

Upon finding his father, he started laughing loudly, with pure delight; I could hear them just three buildings down. He started speaking in Portuguese: "Father! I am_ SO HAPPY_! She loves me! I don't know why—God knows I have done nothing to deserve her—but _she loves me_! My beautiful angel loves me!"

And with that last statement, my resolve simply shattered.

Before I even realized what I was doing, my cell phone was out, and I had dialed the very discreet travel agency my family sometimes used.

"Kent Travel, this is Suzanne," a woman's voice answered.

"Suzanne—this is Edward Cullen."

"Ah, Mr. Cullen," she said, recognizing my surname. "How can I help you today?"

"I'm in Rio de Janeiro, and I need to get back to Seattle as soon as possible. And I'll need a rental car from the airport. Something fast, preferably."

"Okay, just a moment." She clacked on her keyboard for a few seconds. "All right—there is a flight out of Rio de Janeiro at 9:55 tonight. There's a layover in Miami, but you'll be in Seattle by 10:30 tomorrow morning. And I believe Hertz has a Ford Mustang GT. Will that be satisfactory?"

"That would be great."

"Would you like me to charge this to your family's account?"

"Yes."

"All right, Mr. Cullen. Your tickets will be waiting for you at the check-in desk. Enjoy your trip."

I hung up and looked at the clock on my cell phone. It was nearly 5:00 pm, which left me five hours to pack up, hunt, and get to the airport. There was a small forest west of Rio, which I could easily slip into, even though the sun wouldn't be setting for over and hour. I packed my duffle bag with what little I had with me in less than 10 minutes, changed into long sleeves, put on a large hat, and then stepped outside, only to find that it was nearly dark. I could only see a small sliver of the sun at the horizon.

Confused, I pulled my cell phone out again, and flipped it open. 5:11 pm. I flipped it closed, and looked back up at the sun. The sliver would be gone in no longer than 15 minutes.

The last sunset I remembered—February 13th—had been around 7:30 pm. The Brazilian equivalent of Daylight Saving had been that weekend, which would have meant the sun would set at 6:30 pm. But it would take _months_ to make up the other hour difference. . . .

I flipped my cell open for a third time, this time looking for the date. And I was shocked.

05/12/06?! May. May 12th. _How is that _possible Had I really been cocooned in that dark attic for _three months_?! I supposed that I was thirsty enough to explain away the three-month lapse in time, but _still_. Three _months_?

My phone rang. I looked down at the Caller ID. _Alice._ I flipped the phone open and immediately said, "It's _May_?"

"Umm . . . duh? Where have _you_ been? Never mind—I already know. You're going back?!"

"My flight leaves at 9:55."

"I have to call Carlisle, then! I'm so happy! Do you want me to come down and meet you? I'm _dying_ to see Bella!"

"I need some time alone with her first, if you don't mind. I have some _serious_ groveling to do." I was worried. I didn't deserve her forgiveness, though I wanted it more than I'd ever wanted anything in my entire life. I _needed_ Bella.

"Oh, Edward . . ." she pityingly. "She'll take you back—don't worry. She loves you!" Her voice turned scolding as she said, "And more so than you ever gave her credit for."

"I hope so . . ." I said, thoughtfully. "I certainly hope so."

"She will. Trust me." This gave me hope. After all, Alice was rarely wrong.

"Alice? I have a layover in Miami in the morning—will you check to make sure everything will be okay there?"

"Hold please. . . ." She paused for a few seconds. "Umm . . . when you're deplaning, make sure to keep your hands in your pockets and your wrists _completely_ covered."

"Thanks, Alice."

"No problem. Have a good flight. And Edward?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember—in Miami—when you're getting all agitated having to sit there for nearly two hours—it's faster than running or driving."

I laughed ruefully. "Thanks, Alice."

"Bye, Edward! Good luck!"

---

I hung up, and, with the sun fully set at 5:20 pm, ran toward the forest. Two and a half hours later, my immense thirst satiated, I walked into the airport. An hour and a half after that, I boarded the plane. Forty-five minutes later, we were in the air.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Ithaca, New York . . . 4:20 pm (5:20 pm Rio de Janeiro time. . . .)

**Alice Cullen – Friday, May 12, 2006**

After I hung up with Edward, I wrinkled my forehead and tried again.

"What's the matter?" Jasper asked, feeling my confusion and frustration.

"I can't find her!"

"Find who?"

"Bella."

"She's not in Forks?" he asked confusedly.

"Not that I can see . . . But just because I can't see her . . . that doesn't mean . . . It couldn't mean that . . ." I trailed off, scared to contemplate the horrors that the ending of that thought could bring.

"Shhh . . ." Jasper said, comfortingly—sending a wave of calm through my body. "If something had happened to Bella, you would have seen it, don't you think? Maybe she's just visiting her mom in Florida."

"You know it doesn't work like that—it doesn't matter _where_ she is physically. And, anyway, I tried that already. I got nothing. She's just . . . not there. _Anywhere!_"

"Well, don't worry too much—Bella's a mystery in a _lot_ of ways. I'm sure she's just fine."

I let go—letting the calm work its way through me. "Yes—you're right. You _have_ to be."

At least, that's what I thought until Edward called again, frantic, the next afternoon.

**

* * *

****A/N – Sorry! I know that's an AWFUL place to end, but at least _we_ know that Bella is alive. We're totally in the know, and Alice isn't! Muahahaha! And YES, the fact that Alice can't see Bella DOES have something to do with Bella's power. But just be patient. All will be revealed! I promise!**

**PS – Suzi (a.k.a. MadameDazzle a.k.a. my sister), I named Suzanne after you. I'm totally jealous that your fictional counterpart got to talk to Edward!**


	7. Missing

**TOO LATE**

**by saranicole**

**

* * *

****A/N – All right… a lot of people have been having problems getting to my story. I'VE had problems accessing my OWN story, in fact. But I think that if you go to my profile page and try accessing the story from there, it works—just in case you have this issue in the future.**

**This chapter is dedicated to my friend, Emsha... **

**Now! On with the show!**

* * *

**Chapter Seven – Missing**

**Edward Cullen – Saturday, May 13, 2006**

After two agonizingly long flights, I managed to get my bag and rental car and be on the road by 11:00 am. (The frustrating part was that if my damned bag hadn't been too large to carry on, I would have cut _thirty minutes_ off my time.)

The drive from Seattle to Forks takes a normal human 3 ½ to 4 hours. It usually took me an hour and 45 minutes. But today, I was in Forks by 12:19 pm. When I pulled up to Bella's house (at 12:25 pm—the last thing I wanted to do was have Charlie give me a ticket. . . .), I saw her truck in the driveway next to Charlie's cruiser. There was no one around, so I scaled the front of the house and climbed into Bella's window. I hoped she would be there, doing her homework like the good student I knew her to be, but she wasn't.

In fact. . . . I sniffed the air in her room. I could make out faint traces of her delicious scent, but she hadn't been here in quite some time. I furrowed my brow, confused, looking around. All her things were still here—her alarm clock, her jewelry box, her books. I opened her closet to find it completely full. Her drawers were full, also. Her desk still had school supplies in it—paper, pens, pencils, etc. Her backpack was leaning up against the desk. I unzipped it and pulled out the planner she wrote all her homework assignments in. I flipped to yesterday's date—May 12, 2006.

Nothing.

The whole week was empty. And the week before that—empty. And the week before that. I kept flipping back until I found the last day she'd filled out homework assignments for. Friday, March 3, 2006.

_What?_

"No," I whispered, shaking my head. "No. . . ."

I pulled up the loose floorboard and pulled out the CD, pictures, and airplane tickets I'd hidden from her, then replaced the board. I started toward the window, but paused—then went back to Bella's closet. I pulled out the blue blouse that I loved on her and put it to my nose, inhaling. Her scent was stale on it.

I surveyed the area before jumping out the window and running back to the Mustang. As soon as the door was shut, my phone was at my ear.

"Edward?"

"Alice—where is she?" I was already starting to panic. Bella wouldn't have gone to Florida without all of her things, would she? Unless she was _fleeing_ for some reason. . . . But I didn't even want to think about that—about Bella in danger. I had left to prevent that, after all.

"I don't know—she really isn't there?" She knew something. Had she not seen her?

"No—she hasn't been here for a while—from the smell of it, at least a month, although I suspect that it's been two. Her planner—the last day she wrote in it was March 3rd!"

"_What?!_"

"I know. . . . Everything's still in her room—all her clothes, her books, her school stuff—everything." I was becoming more and more anxious and scared every second. "Alice, _where is she_? You don't—you don't think. . . ." I trailed off, unwilling—unable—to complete that thought.

"_NO._ She's somewhere—we're just going to have to find her. I'm on my way out the door. I'll be on the 5 o'clock plane out of Rochester. I'll be in Seattle at 9:45. Wait for me at the house. In the meantime, why don't you try talking to Charlie—see what he knows."

"Okay. . . ." I said, thinking, vaguely, that there was no way Charlie would want anything to do with me. But I was lost. She couldn't be gone. She just couldn't be.

"Edward," Alice said, forcefully. "She's alive. I know she is—and so do you. If she was gone, don't you think you'd feel it? I know I would. And if something had happened, I would have seen it." Was she right? Would I know, instinctively, if she was gone? "Just hold on, okay? I'll be there in a few hours. We'll find her, Edward. We won't rest until we find her. I'll call you during my layover."

"Thanks, Alice."

"I'll keep looking for her—she's somewhere. Maybe I'm just not trying hard enough. . . ."

I nodded to myself. "Let me know the second you see something."

"I will. See you tonight."

I was just about to hang up the phone, when I heard her say, "And Edward?" I put the phone back up to my ear.

"Yeah?"

"_Try_ to be optimistic."

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, Alice. Bye." I hung up and got back out of the car. I was nervous as I walked up to Charlie's door. His mind was full of whatever game he was watching on television. I took a deep breath and knocked.

_Who could _that_ be? And right during the game? I have to look into getting that TiVo thing everyone's always talking about._

I could hear him get up off the couch and walk toward the door. The doorknob turned, and Charlie pulled the door open.

_Edward Cullen? What's _he_ doing . . . oh, no . . ._

"Hi, Charlie," I said, trying to sound casual, but afraid I was failing horribly. "Is Bella here?"

_Oh, God. He doesn't know. . . . Oh, I should be pissed off at him, but . . ._

"Come in, Edward. Have a seat in the living room."

_How am I supposed to tell him?_

"Charlie—you're being nice to me," I pointed out, flatly. "I seriously doubt you even _like_ me after what I did. . . . What's wrong?"

_How do you tell someone . . . I guess you just start at the beginning. . . ._

"Edward, about three months ago, we had a breakout of bear attacks. Several people went missing." I started shaking my head, knowing what was coming. "There were tracks, and blood, in almost every case. . . ."

"Not Bella," I whispered, in denial, still shaking my head.

"I told her not to go into the woods. . . . She knew about the bear—about the missing camper. . . . But I came home that Saturday—March 4th—and her truck was gone. She'd told me she was going to study for a math test at Jessica's house, but she was usually back for dinner . . . so I called the Stanley's, but she'd never made it over there—she hadn't even made plans with Jessica.

"So I started calling around—the Newton's store, all her friends' houses, the hospital . . . everywhere I could think of. She wasn't anywhere. So I thought that maybe she just needed to blow off some steam, so I waited—maybe I was just overreacting. After all, she wouldn't have gone into the woods—I had just reminded her not to that morning. But when she wasn't back by midnight, I started to panic.

"We started searching at dawn. Wherever she was, she had her truck—we had the police looking for it—we issued an Amber alert. And it's not like that truck is a blue Honda Accord, you know. There aren't two of those trucks still running."

I was bracing myself for the worst: They'd found her body mangled, just as Emmett's had looked when Rosalie brought him to Carlisle. I tried not to picture Bella like that—or rather, as she looked in Phoenix, when I was almost too late.

"We didn't find her truck until two mornings later."

"Where was it?" I asked breathily, already dreading the answer—over a cliff or in a river, somewhere. I didn't care that those answers didn't make sense. But what he said was even worse.

"At the end of the 110—right where the pavement stops. I have no idea why—there's a trail there, but . . ."

"It's my fault. . . ." I trailed off.

_What?_ "How is it _your_ fault? You weren't even _here_?" he asked, an echo of bitterness in his voice.

"I took here there once. There's a meadow about five miles in. . . . It's so beautiful in the Spring, and I wanted to show it to her. . . . But _I _was with her—I know exactly where it is. There's no way she could have found it on her own. . . . And she's not the best hiker. . . ."

"Edward—it's as much my fault as it is yours or anyone else's. Bella knew about the attacks—she knew the risk."

"Did you find her?" I whispered.

"No. The bear must have gotten her. We had to stop searching eventually. She only could have survived so long out there by herself. It was the beginning of March; it wasn't the warmest week. Or the driest."

"If I had been here . . ." I just kept shaking my head, because I couldn't . . . I just couldn't . . . It was unfathomable. I literally could not comprehend it.

"Edward, I blamed myself as first, too. I blamed Jacob. I even blamed you, quite honestly. But it wasn't any fault of ours. . . . Bella just wasn't _happy_. . . ."

"Which was also my fault, I presume. I'm to blame on _so many levels_, I can't even count them." But I could try:

It was my fault because I wasn't here to protect her, because I _left_. And Alice _told_ me not to leave—why do I not listen to her? I just—I thought it was the right thing to do—I thought she'd be better off.

It was my fault because I was the one who took her to the meadow in the first place—if I hadn't, she never would have been there. The sick irony was that that was the day I'd told her how I really felt about her—the day we shared our first kiss—a day I _never_ thought I would regret. In any small part.

And it was my fault because I hadn't been able to stay away from her in the first place. If I had—like I knew I should . . . But she was just so damned fascinating—so intriguing—so beautiful. I knew I wasn't good enough for her, that I was dangerous, but I just couldn't stop myself from paying attention to her—from wanting to know her better.

Charlie interrupted my mental list with his thoughts: _Poor kid. He's really beating himself up. . . . Bella wouldn't want that. . . . She loved him. . . ._

"Edward, you made Bella happy—much happier than she'd ever been in Phoenix—Renée told me that. And even though it didn't work out . . . I don't think she regretted anything. And she wouldn't want you to blame yourself. She was always thinking of others like that."

I nodded. "You're right—she wouldn't. I just wish. . . . I wish I could have seen her one last time." My jaw started shaking. "Told her how much I love her."

I wished that I could _cry._ It seemed so wrong _not_ to cry at a time like this—so unnatural that I loved her _so deeply_, and that I couldn't even shed a tear for her.

Then Charlie did something so completely out of character that I was a bit shocked: He pulled me up off the couch and into a tight hug.

"Me, too, Edward. Me, too." I hugged him tightly.

_God, I miss her. I just hope she's happy wherever she is._

"Me too," I whispered, too softly for Charlie to hear.

---

Charlie told me I could stay as long as I wanted . . . so I hung around for a while, watching Charlie's game, until Alice called from Milwaukee during her layover.

"Alice . . ." I said, softly, sadly. "Just a second."

_Alice? Oh, poor little Alice. And Edward is going to have to tell her. . . ._

"Charlie, I'm going to take this outside—I'll be back in a few minutes, if that's okay."

"Sure, Edward."

I walked outside, dreading telling Alice the awful news. "Alice . . ." I said slowly.

"Edward, I already know—I saw your conversation. But Edward—they never found her body—not a trace. Not even a drop of blood. She could be anywhere—there's no proof that she's dead—maybe she ran away or . . . or . . . I don't know. Did you see her wallet in her room—or her passport? Go up there and look for those types of things—things she wouldn't have left without. We'll go to the meadow tomorrow and see if we can find anything. I know it's been a while, but we should try anyway."

"Do you really think—"

"Yes. I do," she cut me off with conviction. "She's somewhere, Edward. I may not be able to see her, but I know she's alive. I can feel it in my bones—in my soul. Don't give up yet. I'll be at the house by 10:30 at the latest."

"See you in a few hours."

"Can I talk to Charlie for a second?" she asked.

"Sure, let me go back inside."

When I walked into the living room, I said, "Charlie—Alice would like to speak with you."

"Okay," he murmured, taking the cell phone I offered him. I could hear their conversation perfectly clearly.

"Oh, my gosh! Charlie!" she sounded very weepy. "I just—I can't believe it. I am _so sorry_."

_She is such a sweet girl. And _way_ too young._ "Thank you, Alice. We all miss her a lot around here."

"She just disappeared? Just like that?"

"Yeah, it was very sudden."

"I'm just so shocked. I don't even know what to say!"

"I know."

"Well, I'm flying to Seattle right now. I'll come by and see you tomorrow, okay? Tell Edward bye for me."

"I will—see you tomorrow." And they both hung up.

I tried not to hope too much. If I did, and Alice was wrong, I didn't know if I could handle it. Of course, I was still in such shock: Bella. Gone. I still couldn't even connect the words into a sentence in my head. I knew I was in denial. I turned to Charlie and did what Alice told me to this time. She was _certainly_ right last time. I never should have left. None of this would be happening if I had just listened to Alice. So I would listen to her _now_.

"Charlie—would it be okay if I went and sat in Bella's room for a while? I just . . ."

"That's fine—you don't need to explain. I've spent a lot of time up there myself."

"Thank you." And I walked upstairs and quietly went to work. I tried to think rationally: _Her wallet would be in the front pocket of her backpack or in her purse . . . or in her truck_. It wasn't in her backpack or purse. And her passport was missing from her top desk drawer. Her stash of money wasn't in the sock in her underwear drawer. But what really made me hope was the fact that her book of Jane Austen was gone.

I called Alice immediately. She was still waiting to board her connecting flight. "Her Jane Austen is gone!"

"What?"

"Her favorite book—_The Complete Works of Jane Austen_. It's gone. And her passport. And her emergency cash—she had almost $200.00."

"What about her wallet?"

"It could be in her truck, but it's not in her room."

"I don't suppose Bella had a credit card we could track the use of?" Alice added, her voice more upbeat now than it had been before.

"No—just her college fund that her paychecks were automatically deposited into. It has a checking account associated with it though." I told her the bank's name.

"I'll put Jasper and Emmett on it. With any luck, she'll have used that. $200.00 wouldn't go very far over a two-month period. That's just over $3.00 a day."

"Thank you, Alice. And good thinking. The next time I'm being a stubborn ass, will you bring this up, please?"

She laughed. "You know I will—although you didn't have to ask. I would have anyway. Oh, I have to go—they just called my group to board. See you in a bit. And don't tell Charlie yet—until we know more."

"See you, Alice."

After I hung up, I took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.

She was alive. She had to be.

---

After a few minutes of actually doing what I told Charlie I was going to do—sitting in her rocking chair and just taking everything in—I went back downstairs.

"I have to go meet Alice—she'll be here soon. But thank you for letting me hang out with you today."

"We all need support—and you're here by yourself. Besides—she'd want us to get along." And I knew he was talking about Bella now.

"Yes, she would. Bye Charlie. I'll see you again tomorrow."

"Bye Edward."

And I let myself out.


	8. Conversations

**TOO LATE**

**by saranicole**

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**A/N – I just wanted to say thanks for all the great reviews I've gotten. ****I've only written 6 original chapters, and already, I have 84 reviews! I feel SO INCREDIBLY LOVED! So thanks! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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**Chapter Eight – Conversations**

**Edward Cullen – Saturday, May 13, 2006**

When I got back to our Forks home, I took my bag and the things I had taken from Bella's house up to my room. I took a quick shower and changed into some clothes I had left behind.

I sat down on the bed and took Bella's blouse into my hands. I held it up in front of me, and studied the color. It was a deep blue, but it was uninspiring without the contrast of Bella's skin next to it. I dropped the blouse onto my lap and let my mind wander, thinking of Port Angeles, when I'd first noticed how radiant Bella looked in this particular shade of blue. I couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly about that combination of creamy ivory and rich blue that I found so appealing at the time. Perhaps it had been that I was already in love with her. But whatever the reason, I wanted Bella to have the blouse if—no, when—we found her.

When we found her. . . . There were so many things I wanted to say to her, but I had no idea where I would begin. Perhaps begging for forgiveness would be the appropriate first step? But all I could think of was how elated I was that she was alive. After what I'd been through today—hearing the whole terrible story from Charlie—then only to find unexpectedly strong evidence that Bella wasn't gone after all? I was ecstatic. I would see Bella again. I would see her and do anything in my power to win her back.

Suddenly, I felt inspired.

The past eight months of my existence had been devoid of music, but here I was, sitting at the piano. And tonight the chords simply flowed from my fingertips. The melody expressed all the hope—the happiness—I felt. It told of what I would say—what I would do—if only I could see Bella again.

When Alice walked in, she didn't say a word—she sat down on the couch, facing backward—toward the piano—resting her arms of the back of the couch and her chin on her arms, closed her eyes, and listened.

After some time, I filled the last measure with a three whole notes in each clef, drew a squiggly arpeggio line, added a fermata, drew in the double bar line, and sat back. But it still needed a title. So I gathered the loose papers, with the first page on top, and after a moment, wrote across the top:

_But To See Her_

I didn't much want to think about the possible symbolism of the rest of the poem ("Ae Fond Kiss" by Robert Burns), which was actually rather tragic, but I loved those two lines:

"But to see her was to love her,

love but her, and love for ever."

"Do you mind if I play it through once?" I asked Alice quietly, without turning around.

_No, please do._

When I was finished, I took a deep breath and looked over to Alice.

_It's beautiful, Edward. Bella will love it._

I smiled.

_And Esme will positively _melt_ when she hears it. And, of course, Jasper will have to leave the house because it's so emotional._

I laughed and rolled my eyes.

"You really _are_ too talented for your own good. I almost feel the need to hit you."

"Gee . . . thanks, Alice. . . ."

She laughed. _Oh, you know I love you._

"Yeah, I know." I glanced at the clock hanging in the living room. 1:00 am. "So, what's the plan, Alice? Do we still need to go to the meadow, or have Jasper and Emmett found something?"

"Either she's living somewhere for free and eating ramen noodles for every meal, or she's found another source of money."

"Maybe wherever she is, she got a job and opened a new bank account. Or maybe she's just cashing her paychecks."

"They ran her Social Security number. Even if she had legally changed her name, she would have then same Social. They didn't find anything."

"Meadow at dawn, then?"

"Yes. We'll go from there. Maybe we can get some more details from Charlie—something _he_ might have thought was insignificant. . . ."

---

As the sun came up Sunday morning, we were already halfway between the car and the meadow. In just a few more minutes, we were there and searching—searching for any sign that she'd been there at all.

Alice found a couple of buried banana peels and an apple core. They were pretty old—almost completely biodegraded. _Could they have been Bella's?_

"How fast do banana peels and apple cores take to biodegrade?"

"I don't know. I don't pay much attention to food. Two months, hopefully, although banana peels and apple cores wouldn't tell us much beside the fact that Bella brought snacks."

After a few more minutes of intense searching, I called over to Alice, "I don't see anything else. Do you?"

"I'm not sure—come look at this."

It was a large impression in the ground—too large for a bear, and not shaped right, anyway. But was it possible? Werewolves? Here? It had been three generations since the last group, but they _had_ started popping up again. We knew there was at least one, possibly two.

"That print isn't two months old," I said, obviously.

"Well, duh. It can't be more than three _days_ old, if it hasn't rained, but it shows that they know this place. Maybe they'll know something." She shrugged. "It's worth a shot. Let's go ask Charlie for more information on this "bear"—see if anything sounds . . . fishy . . . or wolfy. . . ." She laughed at her own joke.

I couldn't help but join her a little, but I nodded as well, and muttered, "Werewolves would be just Bella's luck, wouldn't they?"

She smiled wryly. "If anyone could attract them, she could."

**

* * *

****Alice Cullen – Sunday, May 14, 2006**

Charlie was very much a morning person, so I didn't feel bad knocking on his door at 7:00 am on a Sunday. We could hear him moving around inside already—in the kitchen.

As soon as Charlie opened the door, I gave him a tight hug. "Oh, Charlie! I still just can't believe it. . . . I am so, _so_ sorry."

"Thank you, Alice. It's so good to see you again," he said as he led us inside. "Have you eaten breakfast yet?"

"Yeah, we had cereal before we came over," Edward answered for us.

"All right, considering. Come sit down. How have you been?" he asked.

"I've been okay. California is a _lot_ different than Forks. Especially Los Angeles—it's just so _big_. I'm not sure I like it very much, though the shopping certainly is good. It's just too . . . loud." _Especially with vampire hearing, _I added for Edward's benefit.

"That's one of the reasons I'm here. I like small."

"It's very cozy here—it feels like a community." I paused for effect. "Gosh, I still can't believe . . . a bear? What are the odds?"

"I don't know—there was a string of attacks."

I tried to be tactful, and I said, "Did anyone see it?"

"A few people claimed to have seen it: a big black bear—as big as a grizzly. Except that grizzlies don't come down this far from the mountains, so. . . . We never caught it, but the attacks stopped. There were three more after . . ."

"Did they find tracks?"

"Yeah—that was weird, actually. The prints were huge, but they weren't the right shape for a bear . . . but there's no way a wolf could be that big. . . ."

_Not a regular wolf, maybe. . . Bingo, by the way. Although I have to ask—why would a werewolf attack someone? Unless he got pissed off at something, of course . . . They are dangerous beasts, obviously, but you'd think if one of the wolves got out of line, the pack leader would put a stop to it. Which, I guess he did, since the attacks stopped. That would be just splendid, wouldn't it? A renegade werewolf?_

He widened his eyes slightly and nodded—not big enough movements that Charlie would have seen, of course.

"I hope everyone in the community came out to look. I'm sorry we weren't here to help."

"Yeah, there were tons of people helping."

"Anyone from La Push?"

"Yeah, Billy Black—a good friend of mine—sent some of the boys to help. They know the forest around here better than most. Sam Uley's the one who found Bella before. . . ." Charlie looked like he was remembering something, then snapped back, as if he forgot we were there for a moment.

I looked over to Edward, who had a pained look on his face.

_Are you okay?_ I asked him, silently.

He smiled a small, but grim smile.

_Later?_

He nodded once, subtly.

"Sorry—I know some of the people down at La Push weren't very nice to your family," Charlie went on. "But they really aren't _so_ bad."

"I know. They're just protective of their own. . ." _as we are._ "We're used to it though—our family _is_ sort of strange, after all," I said kindly.

"Everyone has quirks—but yeah, even the La Push boys couldn't find her." He sounded kind of angry when he said this. I quirked an eyebrow at Edward again, wishing I had his talent, because I knew I was missing something. But I'd have to wait until later on that subject too.

We chatted for a while longer about more upbeat topics. I still didn't think we should tell Charlie anything until we found Bella and discovered why she'd run off, and told Edward so. Maybe she had a perfectly reasonable explanation for leaving without telling anyone. _Maybe._

**

* * *

****Edward Cullen – Sunday, May 14, 2006**

When we left Charlie's, it was only 10:00 am. We had plenty of time to try and set up a meeting with the Quileutes. But as soon as we got into the car to drive home, Alice started interrogating me.

"What was going on in there?" she demanded, impatiently.

"Which part?"

"Okay, Mr. Difficult. Be that way. What was Charlie talking about—about Sam Uley finding Bella before?"

I winced, remembering the picture in Charlie's mind.

"It was the day I left—after I said goodbye to her. She must have wandered into the forest after me, and never went home. They didn't find her until well into the night. When Sam brought her to Charlie she was cold and wet and . . ." I trailed off.

"What?" she interrupted my reverie.

"She was in a sort of daze, just repeating 'he's gone' over and over again . . ." I said quietly.

_Oh, Edward._ "It's going to be okay. We'll find her and everything will be okay."

I smiled sadly, not believing her. We'd find her, but . . . Well, it was just too much to hope. . . .

"What about later—Charlie sounded mad that the Quileute boys couldn't find Bella—why?"

"He wasn't mad that they couldn't find her. He was thinking about Jacob Black." I growled his name.

"_Who_? And why are you angry? What did he do?"

"He's the kid from the prom last year—the one who danced with Bella."

She rolled her eyes. _I cannot believe he's still upset about that._

I graciously ignored her mental commentary, as it wasn't very important right now.

"What _about_ him?"

"She'd been hanging out with him a lot while we were gone—they're supposedly best friends now. Or they were, anyway.

"From what I gathered, about two weeks before she went missing, Jake got a mysterious 'sickness' and stopped returning her calls. But after he got 'better,' he decided to hang out with _other_ friends, instead of Bella. She was devastated. He was thinking how it reminded him of when I left."

"Oh, gosh. 'Mysteriously sick,' huh?"

"Yeah, supposedly he had mono, but then it wasn't after all. Charlie remembered that it sounded fishy to him, since mono is really easy to diagnose. But anyway, he was 'sick' again when Bella was missing—apparently, he didn't even feel good enough to help _look_ for her." I couldn't help the anger in my voice. If it had been me, and I'd been on my _deathbed_, I would have helped search for her.

"Oh, geez," she said, her face showing her revulsion. "That's harsh."

We pulled up to the house just as I was saying, "That is an understatement. And, by the way, I _knew_ I didn't like him."

"Well, we need to set up an appointment with the wolves. Obviously that Sam Uley character is one of them."

I grabbed the phone book, and turned to the U section. After trying a couple of different spellings, I found him. Uley, Samuel. "Hmm . . . He's old enough to have his own phone number listed," I said semi-sarcastically. "This guy might just be the _alpha_. But before we call, I wanted to add one more thing."

"What?"

"Apparently, when we left, some of the people on the reservation had a huge bonfire. Charlie thought it was the rudest thing he had ever heard—throwing a party . . . especially when . . ." I trailed off.

"When his daughter's heart was broken," she finished for me.

"Especially when the doctor was throwing around words like _catatonic_," I muttered, disgusted with myself.

She wasn't able to stop a slight wince.

"My point is: I think _you_ should call them. I think you're capable of being more . . . agreeable . . . than I am."

"Yes," she added, agreeably.

---

Alice dialed the wolf's number into her cell phone and pressed send. I heard the phone ring three times before a woman answered, happily.

"Hi! This is Emily!"

"Hi, Emily. Is Sam there?" Alice asked, brightly.

"Yes, he is—may I ask who's calling?"

"This is Alice . . ." _I don't know if she knows about him._

"Umm, okay. . . . Just a second, please."

After a moment, Alice started relaying a quiet conversation going on on the other side of the phone—things that were too low for me to hear.

_Oh, haha! Get this: _

_She's said, "Sam, who is _Alice_?" _

_He said, "Alice who?" _

_Now she sounds relieved, haha! "I don't know—she didn't say. She asked for 'Sam' and just said her name was 'Alice.'" _

_And he said, "Okay—that's weird. I swear though—I don't know her, love." Aww! That's actually kind of sweet, don't you think? I hope she knows, though, or she'll be in for a treat. _

_Oh, here he is._

"Hello?"

"Is this Sam? It is 'you-lee', isn't it?"

"Yes it is. And what's your last name, Alice?"

She smiled. _Isn't he going to be surprised? _"Cullen. You _are_ one of the wolves, are you not?"

"Alice Cullen." He sounded amused, which I took as a good sign. It wasn't open hostility, after all. "You are probably the _last_ person on earth I ever expected to receive a phone call from."

"May I take that as a yes?"

"I believe you may," he answered, formally—as if he were trying to sound professional. "What can I do for you Alice?"

"My brother and I would like to meet with your pack, if we could. We're looking for some information, and we think you might be able to help," she paused. "For the sake of peace."

"Is that some kind of cleverly-phrased threat?"

"We have no desire to break the treaty, if that's what you mean. Perhaps we could trade information. Surely there are things we know that you would like to learn?"

"That sounds . . . acceptable. When did you want to meet?"

"Some time today, if we could—and somewhere neutral, of course."

"The boys would probably be in better moods—more willing to cooperate—if we met after lunch. How about 2 o'clock this afternoon?"

"That would be lovely. As for the location, might I suggest the Forks High School parking lot? It's private, but also open—someone could drive by at any moment there. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes, but may I ask you one last question?"

"If I may ask you one in return."

"Fair enough. What is your brother's name—the one who's with you?" Edward raised an eyebrow. _That wasn't what I was expecting either_.

"Edward."

"And your question?" he said, sounding a bit smug now. _What the . . . ?_

"How many are in your pack?"

"There are five of us. But we may soon have six." _O__h, great._

After an almost unnoticeable pause, Alice said, "Well, then. We will see you at two."

"See you then," he replied, and I could hear him smiling.

And she hung up.

"_Five?_" Alice asked, still stunned. "Is it too late to call Emmett and Jasper? And Rosalie, while we're at it?"

"It is everlastingly too late. I'm just glad _I_ am the fast one."

"Hey!" Alice cried, indignant.

"Oh, whatever—you know I love you," I grinned mischievously. "I promise you," I added, faking seriousness. "If it comes to that, I'll give you a piggyback ride." Then I laughed. I knew I shouldn't tease—this situation was not exactly ideal.

She rolled her eyes at me, but she was glad I was in a good mood. "Why do you think he wanted to know your name, of all things?"

And I was serious again—I shook my head. "I'm not sure, but for some reason, I feel as though we just gave them the upper hand. And I started feeling that way _before _I found out that we are severely outnumbered."

"Me too."

**

* * *

****Sam Uley – Sunday, May 14, 2006**

"They want to meet with you guys?" Emily asked as soon as I'd hung up.

"Apparently so. Alice Cullen. And _Edward_ Cullen."

"Edward? As in Jacob's Bella's Edward?"

"That's the one. Three guesses what 'information' they want." I had told her, in strictest confidence, of course, what had happened to Bella. Jacob was still the only one who knew where she was.

"And what are you going to do about it?"

"I do believe Jake was saying something about visiting his sister, Rachel. She's all the way over in Pullman, so he'd better leave soon." I grinned, and she smiled back at me.

"Now, I believe I should call a pack meeting."

"I'll start cooking. . . ." she sighed, then laughed.

I called the boys, one by one, to a pack meeting at my house—now. Once they got there, I explained the situation:

"I received a _very_ interesting phone call a little while ago . . . from Alice Cullen."

"WHAT?!" Paul exclaimed. "Why the hell is that bloodsucker calling you?"

I ignored his immediate outrage. "Her and brother want to meet with us."

"Ha!" Paul exclaimed, happy again. "The two of them against the _five_ of us? Bring it on!"

"Actually, it's going to be the _four_ of us. Unless Jake _insists_ on coming."

"Why wouldn't I come?" he asked, confused.

"Alice's brother. It's Edward."

"They want to know where Bella is?! After all this time?!" He made a noise that perfectly expressed his utter disgust. "There is no way in _hell_ am I telling that _leech_ where she is!"

"You know, it's funny, but I had a feeling you would say something like that. . . ." I tried not to laugh. After all, we had already outsmarted the Cullens and they didn't even know it yet! "Didn't you say something about needing to go visit Rachel?" I asked

He laughed, seeing exactly where I was heading with this. "Oh yes," he said, sarcastically. "Rachel—she's just being _dying_ to see her baby brother lately. I'd better not leave her hanging any longer than I already have. . . ." He laughed again. Although honestly, "I'd rather visit Rebecca. . . ."

"And how exactly do you propose getting to Hawaii in your Rabbit? Does it float like the Beetle?"

"Okay, okay. Rachel it is. I should probably leave now—it takes for_ever_ to get to Pullman, and there is like _zero_ radio reception in the mountains. Or on the other side of mountains, really. I have seriously got to get me a portable CD player with a cassette adapter. Hint hint."

"Yeah, yeah. Your birthday isn't for a few months."

"All right. I'm gone. I'll call you when I get there."

"Have a fun drive!" Embry quipped.

"Yeah, because the landscape in Eastern Washington is _really_ something to write home about. I just can't seem to get enough of the _tumbleweeds_. . . . Oh, and Paul?"

"Yeah?"

"Give him hell for me, would you?"

Paul laughed evilly as the door closed behind Jake.

"All right, boys. Let's talk strategy. First of all, I think it would be best, _Paul_, if you didn't say _anything_. . . ."


	9. Information

**TOO LATE**

**by saranicole**

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**A/N – I really wanted to call this chapter **_**Too Much Information**_**, but I've been doing single word titles, so . . . But anyway, thank you for all your support! I hope you like this chapter. I **_**REALLY**_** like it. We're really starting to get somewhere!**

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**Chapter Nine – Information**

**Edward Cullen – Sunday, May 14, 2006**

We left the house at 1:45 pm. We were going to be _very_ early. But Alice said something about wanting to seem non-threatening. As if _five werewolves_ would be intimidated by the _two_ of us, especially considering Alice was so tiny.

Alice had tried to see how this meeting would go, but she was getting nothing. Well, not nothing. She saw us standing in the parking lot, getting stood up. She had said, "Maybe they just haven't decided to come yet. . . ."

Yeah. Right.

But at 2:02, a carload of boys drove up. And _four_ really _big_ guys got out, walked toward us, and stood in a line, facing us.

"Where is your fifth?" Alice asked the group.

"He's out of town," one of them answered.

I heard an immediate _Hahahahaha! _from one of the other boys.

I lifted an eyebrow in Alice's direction, trying to indicate that something strange was going on. _Already._

"Hello," I greeted them, as neutrally as I could muster. "My name is Edward Cullen. And this," I gestured with my hand, "is my sister, Alice."

_I could _so_ take him. And Alice is a pipsqueak!_ The same boy who laughed before thought rudely. I looked directly at him and lifted an eyebrow mockingly. I'd like to see him _try_ to take me. Apparently, this one didn't realize that you could not always judge a vampire by his or her outward appearance. . . . Although I wouldn't have minded having Emmett here. He had an unequivocal power to intimidate.

I looked more closely at the four boys in front of me, and realized that though they all looked remarkably similar—ridiculously tall with the same rich brown skin and their shorn black hair—one of them looked older than the other three. This must be the alpha.

It soon appeared that I was correct, as he stopped forward. "I'm Sam. These three," he said, pointing to them each in turn, "are Paul (the one who'd made the sarcastic comments before), Jared, and Embry.

"Now, what is it that you wanted to know?"

_Ha! Like we don't already know!_ Paul thought—the sarcasm still there. Smart-aleck.

"We're looking for Bella Swan." _Gasp! I never expected _that _one!_ Paul again. I gave him a pointed look, before turning back to Sam and continuing, calmly. "We think she is still alive, despite common belief, and we hoped that you might know something regarding her whereabouts."

"Why do you want to know?" Sam asked, cautiously.

"She's a friend of ours," Alice replied.

"If she's your friend, why did you leave her here alone and unprotected?" Sam questioned.

_Yeah, great one, retard!_ I needed to just ignore him. He didn't know he was goading me, but he was. And it was really starting to piss me off.

"What do you _mean_, unprotected?"

"I had heard that if you kill one vampire, it's best to kill its mate also. Especially if there is someone dear to you who might end up on the receiving end of a revenge plot," Sam answered, cryptically.

I raised an eyebrow, questioningly. It took about three seconds for me to comprehend what he'd just said. I turned to Alice, who was already looking at me, questioningly. "Victoria. . ." I growled. "She was his _mate_—I should have seen that." I shook my head, and dropped my voice to a lower decibel, "Another mistake. . . . All this time, I thought I was just being precautious, but apparently it wasn't good enough." I had been disappointed in myself before—I was dreadful at tracking—but now I was disgusted.

I turned back to the wolves. "Like I said. I didn't know Victoria was James's mate. But even so, I've been tracking her—or trying to—for the past eight months. I pursued a false lead in Texas—I thought she'd gone to South America . . . James was a tracker—hunting people was his specialty. She must have learned a trick or two from him."

"Is Victoria dead yet?" Alice asked for me.

"No—she left as soon as she figured out Bella wasn't here any more. I don't know if the redhead believes Bella to be dead or not, but we _did_ get her accomplice—the black-haired leech. Laurent."

"_Laurent_?" I looked to Alice, "I thought he was with Tanya."

"He was there the last time I talked to her—at the beginning of February. She told me he'd been making fairly good progress—he'd been there almost a year." She turned to the wolves. "Did you see his eye color?"

"Red—dark."

"You have to believe me," I said, earnestly, to Sam. "I never would have left Bella alone here if I hadn't thought she was _perfectly safe_. If I'd had any idea . . ." I trailed off, shaking my head.

_He sounds like he really cares about her. . . . Jake said she was pretty messed up when Edward left—that she was still hung up on him—that she just needed a friend. . . . I kind of wish I knew where she was._ Embry.

I looked toward the boy, as I plead my case, "I _need_ to find her. _Please_."

"We don't know where she is," Embry replied.

_What?! Embry!_ Paul was starting to shake with anger, to which Sam's reply was a sharp, "Paul. Get it together." But Paul didn't cease the growling in his head.

"None of you?" I asked Embry.

"None of _us_."

Paul's internal growling was getting louder, and his shaking started again.

I raised an eyebrow at his emphasis, then turned to Sam again. "What is the name of your fifth?"

He sighed, as if he was about to give up some great secret. "Jacob. Jacob Black."

I growled. I couldn't help it.

Paul's shaking had become downright violent. He was on the verge.

"Paul, we are in public," he reprimanded severely, jutting his thumb toward the 101, which ran directly past this parking lot. And there were quite a few cars driving by. "If you can't handle it, go home."

"Fine," he growled, and stalked off.

"Leave your shoes!" Paul turned and called after him.

Two very inexpensive-looking shoes flew in our direction, followed by a t-shirt, and just as Paul disappeared into the forest, I saw fur sprouting out of his back.

Sam turned back from where Paul has disappeared, only to glare hatefully at me. "I honestly don't blame him. Why the hell would _you_ have a problem with Jacob Black?"

"Charlie told me what he did," I said shortly.

He laughed once, derisively. "And what exactly does _Charlie_ say he did?"

"He became friends with Bella, and then _dropped _her. And he didn't even help _look_ for her when she _disappeared_!"

"He 'dropped' her, because he didn't want her to get _hurt_. He was a brand new wolf. He knew he was dangerous." A picture flashed in his mind—a beautiful girl with three long claw marks down the side of her body, including her face. _Emily_. "And _I _was the one who told him he couldn't be friends with her any more. I gave him an injunction—he wasn't allowed to tell her. He _had_ to obey." He paused, thinking for a moment before going on. "Although, I think he would have found a way around it—he's clever like that—and he was determined."

Okay, so it was _Sam's_ fault, really. "And his excuse for not helping the search party?"

"He didn't help _look_ for her, because he knew exactly where she _was_. He knew Charlie would hate him for it later, but he wouldn't leave Bella's side." He glanced at Embry. "Except for about eight hours to sleep."

_What? _Alice asked. _What's he talking about? Where was she?_

Sam's voice turned from rude to admiring. "I don't know how he did it. If Emily . . ." he cut off sharply, turning his head—half in disgusted with me, and half in pain. His thoughts turned toward his fiancée, and how he'd been the cause of her pain—the thought of her in pain affected me almost like the thought of Bella in pain did me. It was torturous.

"Jake loves Bella, you know. Unrequited, it may be, but still. . . . He was there the whole time.

I felt like I was missing something obvious—like I hadn't been given the puzzle piece that would make all the other ones make sense. Alice's thoughts echoed mine.

_I don't know how Jake did it either. I was only with her for eight hours . . . _Embry thought.

And then I saw it in his mind. He had his head down, his eyes closed, but I stared at the top of his head, where the awful images were originating:

Bella—crying, writhing in pain, trying to scream, but unable to because her voice was gone. I felt my face contorting uncontrollably. I found myself wishing, for the second time in under eighteen hours, that I could cry. Even if I hadn't seen the dried blood on her neck . . . I'd been through that pain. I'd seen three others go through it. There was no mistaking it—especially as Embry recalled the sounds of bones breaking and of her heart slowing.

Embry raised his head, and his eyes met mine. I don't know what he saw, exactly—something between excruciating pain and nearly irrepressible horror, but in that moment, he knew. He knew that, somehow, I'd seen the memory he had just recalled.

I couldn't say anything. I felt completely numb—I just kept staring at Embry. I tried to shake my head—unwilling to believe, unable to understand, hoping beyond hope that he was merely playing a cruel and horrifically realistic joke on me. I don't know if I succeeded in moving my head or not, but he responded.

_I'm sorry._

Reality kicking in, I dropped my head and stared blankly at the asphalt for a few moments before closing my eyes. After what was probably only a couple of minutes, I realized that Alice was talking to me.

"Edward?" she said, loudly. _What's the matter? Are you okay?_

I looked up at Embry again, my brow furrowed deeply. He seemed to understand what I was thinking, because he began explaining.

"We got here too late. Just _seconds_ too late. We were running as fast as we could, but we were too late."

And then he said the words I could not. "Laurent bit her."

I could see it in Alice's eyes—hear it in her thoughts—the moment everything finally clicked for her—when everything the werewolves had said finally made sense.

"Oh," she breathed. _Of course_. "Oh, Edward. . . ." _I'm sorry. __It's not _so _bad, though, is it? I mean, you can be _together_ now. If we ever find her._

She looked to Sam. "You really don't know where she is?"

"No, we really don't."

She sighed loudly—frustrated. "We _really_ need to find her now—even more than before. She's a _new vampire_. And I imagine that a new vampire is about 50 million times worse than a new werewolf is. If she went within, gosh, three MILES of a human . . . and if she went on a killing spree, then the Volturi . . ." she trailed off. "We _need_ to find her. _Immediately_."

"Jacob knows where she is." Embry said.

Sam raised his eyebrows at Embry, thinking, _You think we should tell them?_

And even though Embry couldn't hear, he understood. He nodded and looked at me._He loves her . . . don't you?_

I nodded subtly. "More than _anything_," I whispered.

_And you won't hurt her again?_ he asked, threateningly.

I shook my head, firmly. "No."

"Do you have a cell phone I can borrow?"

I handed him mine. He quickly dialed ten digits and pushed send. I heard four rings before an older man's voice answered, "Hello?"

"Hey, Billy—it's Embry. I need to get out of town, and I thought I'd go hang out with Jacob in Pullman. Could you give me Rachel's address?"

"Sure Embry," Billy Black replied. "Just a second."

And after a moment, Billy gave Embry an address, which Embry repeated in his head, for my benefit, I assumed, even though I could hear Billy's voice perfectly clearly.

"Thanks Billy."

"No problem—say hi to Jake and Rachel for me."

"Will do. Bye." And Embry hung up.

He raised his eyebrows in my direction. _Did you get that?_

I nodded.

_And that's Pullman, Washington—near WSU._

"Thank you," I said fervently. "And not just for the address."

"I know. You're welcome. Good luck."

I nodded and turned back to Sam. I knew we needed (or I wanted, at least) to hurry, but we had made a deal.

"You wanted information?"

I think he could hear my impatience, because he shook his head. "Just go find her. And take care of her, will you?"

"I will," I said ardently.

"Tell her we say hi."

"Thank you. We owe you one. A big one."

He smiled, nodded, and then said, "Go get her!"

---

And with that, I turned, got into the rental car, with Alice already putting on her seatbelt as I slid into the drivers' seat, and drove top-speed back to the house. Alice bought plane tickets while we grabbed our things.

"We're on the 5 o'clock flight to Spokane. That gives us two hours to get to Sea-Tac, check the rental cars in, and get to the airplane, so let's get moving."

---

We made it with fifteen minutes to spare. Alice's car wasn't built to go as fast as mine was.

We got into Spokane at 6 o'clock, picked up our bags, got _another_ rental car, and were out the door by 6:30 pm. We pulled into Pullman at 6:55 pm, and up to Rachel Black's apartment at 7:03 pm.

As Alice and I walked up to the door, I could smell that Jacob had been here. Alice knocked, and a girl who could only be Rachel answered.

"Hello. Are you Rachel Black?" Alice asked politely.

"Yeah—who are you?"

"My name is Alice, and this is my brother, Edward. We need to talk to Jacob. Is he here?"

"He was, about half an hour ago, for about ten minutes, but he took off again."

"He drove all the way here and only stayed for ten minutes? Why?"

"I have no idea. He's always been a strange kid. His friend Paul called about an hour before Jake got here—he wanted Jake to call him back as soon as he got in . . . which he did. Jake got all pissed off, for some unknown reason, said he couldn't stay, and just took off again."

_Paul,_ Alice said to me

I nodded, trying to hide my frustration from the human girl in front of us.

"And you don't know where he went?" I asked, too curtly.

"I have no idea."

"Okay, well, thank you anyway. Have a good night!" Alice said, sweetly.

"You too." And she closed the door.

Alice led the way bad to the car and got in. As soon as the door closed, I swore.

"Damn it! Now what?!" I demanded.

"Let's call Carlisle." I nodded as she pulled out her cell. I started the car and started heading back the way we came—toward the airport.

After a brief discussion, they had decided we should all meet and talk about further options. That would give everyone time to think before we sat down together. Plus, we would all be together in case our plans required more than two people.

"Thanks Carlisle," Alice said at the end of the conversation. "I'll call Tanya and tell her we're coming."


	10. Revelation

**TOO LATE**

**by saranicole**

* * *

**A/N –** **Hey everyone! Just so you know, I'm moving to Texas tomorrow morning (Tuesday, July 31, 2007). It's a two-day drive in the U-Haul, so I won't be able to update until I get there. There are only two more chapters and an epilogue after this one, so we're ALMOST done. I promise to have it all completed before the night of August 6th. I know that once Eclipse comes out, I won't be able to concentrate on fan fiction for a while… :)**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter Ten – Revelation**

**Edward Cullen – Sunday, May 14, 2006**

It was going to take the rest of the family a lot longer to get to Alaska than it would us, so Alice suggested we stop somewhere for the night. There wouldn't be any more flights to either Anchorage or Fairbanks until morning anyway.

I wanted to be alone—with nothing but my own thoughts, so the plan was fine with me.

"We fly out at 7:00 am, so be back by 5 o'clock, okay? Returning rental cars always takes longer than you think it will."

"I'll be here by five."

---

Once I was away from civilization—something easily accomplished in eastern Washington—I finally let all the emotions I had so painstakingly attempted to suppress earlier consume me.

What Alice had said was true . . . that Bella and I could truly be together now that she . . . I shuddered, thinking of her pain. But all the things I had said to Charlie . . . Was it really only yesterday? Well, all those things were true also.

If I had just stayed away from her in the first place, none of this would have happened. She never would have found out my secret, she never would have met James, Victoria, and Laurent. She never would have had her life stolen from her.

This was all _my_ fault.

We couldn't be together, because she would never forgive me for this. How could she? Because of me, she would never see her parents again. Because of me, Charlie was heartbroken and alone . . . and I could only imagine how Renée was holding up. But most significantly, because of me, Bella's soul was damned.

I had damned her to an eternity of darkness. An eternity as a blood-sucking predator. An eternity as a monster. Not that she would ever be a monster to me.

But, oh, how I hated myself.

And she would hate me. She probably already did. And I didn't—couldn't—blame her.

And even if I could ever come to forgive myself for the wrongs I had done Bella, there was one thing I would never forgive myself for: Not being there with her during her change.

I should have been there. But instead, I was in a hold in South America, not doing _anything_ of importance.

In a hole, sitting perfectly still.

And then I realized that my last effort to stay away—to save Bella—was what had killed her. If I had come back in February, none of this would have happened.

The irony was brutal.

It was thoughts like these that plagued me all night—until Alice called to remind me to come back.

**

* * *

****Alice Cullen – Sunday, May 14, 2006 – Just After Edward Left**

We were _so close_. And then Jacob just disappeared. It was the frustrating thing . . . and I could have positively _killed_ Paul. . . .

But thoughts like these wouldn't bring us any closer to finding Bella. Edward and I would meet Carlisle and the family in Denali, and then we would decide the next course of action.

I picked up my cellular phone to call Tanya. After two rings, Carmen picked up.

"Hi, Carmen. Is Tanya there?" I asked politely.

"Alice? Hello! I'll get her for you."

I heard her call Tanya, who then picked up an extension somewhere else in the house.

"Alice?" Tanya asked. I heard Carmen hang up.

"Hi, Tanya! How are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm doing wonderfully. How are you?"

"I've been better. . . . Tanya, is it okay if we invade your house for a few days? We have . . . sort of a family emergency, and we need a place to meet."

"Do you mind if I ask what's wrong?" she inquired, worriedly.

"It's Bella. . . . Edward and I just found out she's missing. Everyone in Forks thinks she's dead, including her father, but we met with the werewolves, who say she was changed. We couldn't find the boy who knows where she is, and we need to meet and discuss strategies—what we can do next—where we can look—that sort of thing. Edward's freaking out, of course. I'm just glad he hasn't run off and done something stupid."

Tanya paused, took a deep breath, and then released it slowly.

"Is now not a good time? We don't want to intrude. The family can come here, I guess, or we can go back to Forks."

"No, Alice—that's not it . . . Is Edward with you?" she asked, hesitantly—as if with great effort.

"No. He went out running—to think."

"He's not within earshot . . . or thought range?"

"Umm . . . no. No, he would have had to run at least 15 miles to get away from all the little towns out here. . . . Why?"

"Alice. . . . I need to tell you something. . . ."

"What's the matter?" I asked urgently. She sounded so strange—so unlike herself.

"Nothing's _wrong_, really. It's just that Bella? Well . . ." she paused for a moment before continuing, as if she was just now making up her mind to tell me. "She's _here_. With _us_."

_Of course_, I thought, everything finally clicking. _Where else would she have gone?_ But I was still shocked. "Tanya! Why didn't you tell us?"

"She didn't want us to tell your family. She thinks Edward doesn't love her anymore . . . and she didn't want to burden your family. She's very selfless like that."

"Of _course_ he still loves her—_you_ know that!"

"Yes, but . . . well . . . Well, now that I think about it, I'm not sure why we didn't tell you, other than Bella asked us not to. Her argument seemed to make a lot of sense at the time. I'm sorry—we should have told you."

"Well, I guess the question is what do we do now? If she finds out we're coming—with her believing as she does—she might run. And Edward—" He was probably freaking out right now, blaming all of this on himself. Who knew what kind of irrational trains of thought he was devising. . .

"I don't think I should tell Edward. I don't know how he'll react, but . . ."

"And I think it best not to tell Bella. She loves him—that much is obvious. They really should be together. I have never seen them together, but they are _quite_ complementary, aren't they?"

I smiled. "Yes. They are. Quite."

And so we planned. Eleazar, Carmen, Irina, and Kate would take Bella on a two-day trip—hunting, hiking, whatever—so that when the five of them returned, all of my family would already be there. That way, we could _seriously_ gang up on Bella, if necessary. Plus, we didn't know how Bella would react to Edward, but I thought that with Emmett, Esme, Carlisle, and I there . . . perhaps we could have more influence over her.

Now, I just had to hide my thoughts from Edward until early Tuesday morning. Tanya would have to do the same when we arrived. We swore ourselves to secrecy. It would be easier to keep a secret from Edward if only the two of us knew.

And I wanted to see the look on Edward's face the first time he saw Bella again. He would be shocked. _This is going to be fabulous!_

**

* * *

****Edward Cullen – Monday, May 15, 2006**

Our flight arrived in Anchorage at 10:30 am local time. Since the roads leading to Tanya's home were closed during the winter, Alice and I didn't bother renting a car. There was a ton of snow on the ground, so it took us longer to get to the remote house than usual—an hour and a half.

As we walked into the house, we were greeted by Tanya, as the rest of the family was on a hunting trip.

"Welcome! Edward—it has been _too_ _long_."

"Yes, well . . ." I mumbled. She knew the situation, I was sure. Even if Alice hadn't filled her in on the most recent happenings yet, she knew we had left Forks . . . and why . . .

"Well, make yourselves at home—as always. Oh—Edward—your usual room? I'm in the middle of redecorating it, so you'll have to use the green room on the third floor. Sorry about that."

I didn't care. I just wanted to lie down and zone out. Carlisle wouldn't be here until tonight, so I had to bide my time until then. And thinking was painful.

I hadn't seen Carlisle, Esme, or anyone else in my family, other than Alice, since September. Carlisle would welcome me like the prodigal son—as he had before—after my rebellious days. I didn't deserve it then, just as I didn't deserve it now. Esme would be ecstatic to see me—she would cry if she could. And Emmett would be excited. I doubted Jasper would enjoy the current state of my emotions, though. And Rosalie. . . . Well, I doubted she would even come. (And it would be better that way.) But if she _did_ show up, it would only be for Emmett's sake. She had always been hostile toward Bella, and she certainly wouldn't want to help me located her.

As I walked slowly down the hallway on the second floor—no need to hurry, after all—I thought I smelled . . . freesia?

Oh, great. I was going crazy. I was so desperate to find her that I was hallucinating—imagining scents like Bella's. But, with an additional whiff of air, I realized that the scent wasn't hers. It was similar, but probably just something from Bath & Body Works. This _was_ a house full of women, after all.

I was just glad the three single women who lived here had no interest in me. They thought I was attractive, but I was quite a bit younger than them. Plus, while they loved men, they had no notions of "settling down." They loved the freedom that single life afforded them.

But that life wasn't for me. I had been content to be alone before, but now. . . . Now I knew I would never be complete without my Bella. It felt like a piece of me was missing. A very large piece.

And I didn't even know where she was.

Not that she'd have me anyway. . . .

And so went my thoughts, until hours later.

**

* * *

****Alice Cullen – Monday, May 15, 2006**

"Edward! Tanya and I are going to go running! Will you be okay by yourself?" I called up to him.

"I don't know, Alice. What do you see?" he called back.

"You'll be fine. See you in a little while!" And Tanya and I set off. We weren't really heading to any place in particular, nor did se have specific plans to discuss, but I thought it best to be away from Edward as much as possible until tonight. I could control my thoughts, but not always my visions. I hadn't had any of Bella since she became a vampire, but I didn't know if that would change.

Once we were out of Edward's mind-reading range, we could speak freely.

"We're doing the right thing, aren't we?" Tanya asked, concerned.

"Of course! Although I wish I could see something. But at least I can _try_ now. I didn't dare to earlier. It is so bizarre—I feel like my power has been broken lately. I can't see Bella; I couldn't see the werewolves. . . . And I seem to be able to see everyone else just fine."

"Well, Edward can't read Bella's mind. Maybe she's just different."

"I could see her _before_," I grumbled, pointlessly.

"Can you see anything about tonight?"

"I can see Carlisle and the family coming—and all that. And I can see Carmen, Eleazar, and your sisters come in . . . but it's like Bella's not with them. They wouldn't leave her out there alone, would they? They didn't seem distressed in any way, so I don't think she was hurt."

Tanya called Kate and made her promise that if anything happened to Bella, or even just concerning Bella, Kate would call Tanya.

But still, I saw no Bella. I wondered how, if I really couldn't see Bella's future, it would affect my visions. Would it be like this—as if Bella simply didn't exist? Would it throw everything else off?

Tanya and I hung out away from the house all day. We hunted a little, since I was a bit thirsty. We went back a little while before my family was due to arrive, so we could clean up.

Edward was still up in his temporary room. I wondered what he was thinking about, but didn't dare guess.

_It's probably good that Edward's the one with the mind-reading abilities. I doubt anyone would want to hear _his_ pessimistic thoughts._

I heard him snort. "Gee, thanks, Alice. . ." he called down.

_Well, it's true. . . . Mr. Self-Inflicted-Torture_.

He didn't respond, but I would have liked to see the look on his face. I laughed to myself, knowing he would hear me.

**

* * *

****Edward Cullen – Monday, May 15, 2006**

Alice. Impertinent little Alice. I sighed inwardly. Self-inflicted torture? What exactly was I beating myself up over that I didn't deserve?

She didn't understand. No one seemed to. _She_ hadn't caused the person she loved to lose their immortal soul. She didn't even think our souls were lost, so the point was moot. She _couldn't_ understand.

Ugh.

And now I had all these conflicting thoughts—opposing interests. I wanted Bella. I wanted her—needed her—more than I'd ever wanted or needed anything in my too-long existence. But on the other hand, she was better off without me. She couldn't be _physically_ hurt anymore. She didn't need my _protection_. She didn't need _me_. And now that I had utterly failed her, she wouldn't even _want_ me. She would _despise_ me.

I wanted to find her with every fiber of my being, except that I knew if I did, and she didn't want me, my dead heart would break. And I didn't know if I could survive that.

But I was in too deep. I couldn't give up now. If I had to spend the rest of my endless life on my knees, begging Bella for forgiveness, I would.

At least I would be with her.


	11. Planning

**Too Late**

**by saranicole**

* * *

**A/N – You readers are VERY DEMANDING! I'm being threatened left and right and up and down! YAY! That means you like the story! You know, I didn't think that the end of chapter ten was that bad! But apparently it was. Perhaps I didn't think so since I know what's going to happen...? Hahaha…**

**Anyway, SORRY I didn't update sooner! I've spent the last 5 days packing, moving, unpacking, driving, etc. without internet! VERY VERY VERY FRUSTRATING, let me tell you. But now I'm back! Sorry for the wait!**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven – Planning**

**Edward Cullen – Monday, May 15, 2006**

The family arrived about an hour later. When I came downstairs, they were all there, including Rosalie. Alice was already with Jasper. I couldn't see the future, but I pegged nearly everyone's reactions.

Carlisle opened his arms to me and said, simply, "My son." I stepped into his welcoming embrace.

"We'll find her, Edward. We'll do everything we can to help." _Anything to make you happy again._

"Thank you, Carlisle."

Esme hugged me next. "Edward." _How I have missed you. We _all _have_.

I raised an eyebrow at her.

_Well, Rosalie missed you in her own way. She knows that the family is not the same without you._

Emmett pulled me into a bear hug. "It's about freaking _time_!" _You owe me a _lot_ of wrestling matches, little brother._

I had to smile at this. Emmett was so . . . simple, sometimes.

_And good news about Bella, eh? It's about time she was one of us! Now you two can _really_ be together,_ Emmett added in a tone that definitely indicated a double meaning.

I frowned.

_Oh . . . sorry. I know you don't like when I bring that up. . . . Disrespectful and all that. But it's still true. You know . . . if we track her down._

Everything was so easy for him—black or white, right or wrong. But life was more complicated than that. At least my life was.

_I wonder if she still trips a lot. That was always hilarious!_

I rolled my eyes, as I turned to Jasper. He gave me a quick one-armed hug. He had been analyzing my feelings since I first came into the room. I liked being around Jasper at times like these. It was a relief to be able to give myself over to an artificial calm, rather than drowning in the dark emotions of the past few months.

Maybe Alice was right about the pessimism thing.

_It's going to be okay, Edward. We'll find her, and you'll see. Alice is completely confident. I can't feel even the slightest trace of worry from her. And you know Alice is always right. We _will_ get her back, and then everything will be back to how it was before. Better, even—since she's been changed._

Better for whom, I wondered. Certainly for _him_. He wouldn't have to worry about controlling himself around her anymore. I sighed internally. Not that this was a bad thing.

Rosalie approached me last. I don't know what I expected, precisely—yelling, screaming, or gnashing of teeth, maybe—but I was completely wrong in my prediction.

"Hey, Edward. Home's been like hell on earth without you."

_Huh?_ My eyebrows raised without my permission.

"Well, it has." _Esme's been miserable, Carlisle spends all his time in his study. Emmett's been depressed. Alice and Jasper keep to themselves. It's been awful. And it's about freaking time we got back to normal._

"Umm . . ." I said, tilting my head to the side, trying to figure out how to respond to her.

_So let's just find Bella, then we can all go back home. ALL of us. Let's keep this family together._

"_All_ of us? How many does 'all' entail?"

"Eight, duh."

Floored. That's what I was. Floored.

_Oh, come on. If you had just changed her to begin with, everything would have been fine. It's about damned time, too. A freak accident from what Alice said, but if Laurent was alive, you would seriously owe him one. He did what _you_ wouldn't do. And now everything's just how it ought to have been from the beginning._

I didn't know whether to start yelling or hug her. Her motives were probably purely selfish, but . . . Well, she seemed to be coming around. So I tried to be positive. Sort of.

"You know, Rose. I think that if I thought about all of that for long enough, I'd find something . . . good . . . in that thinly-veiled insult. . . ."

She laughed. "Yeah, well. It's good to have you back. And it will be better if you have Bella, I think. You kind of suck without her."

Everyone laughed at this. I snorted, but shrugged, conceding the point. After all, I agreed with her . . . in a way. I was sure hell without Bella. Life was hell without her.

We all sat down in the living room, and Alice and I explained all of the details of the situation. After the facts had been laid out, we began strategizing.

We didn't have a lot to go off of, so after three hours, we still didn't have much of a plan. The best idea on the table was to wait a bit, go back to Forks, try to get our hands on Jacob Black, and then pry Bella's location out of him.

Emmett expressed his desire to _physically _pry the information from Jacob, but Alice explained the details of her transformation as I relived Embry's memory in my head.

_It's not your fault, Edward. You don't have anything to feel guilty about._

I lifted my eyebrows at Alice.

_As much as you would have liked to have always been there for her, you couldn't have been. She attracted danger like a magnet, and this would have happened one way or anything . . . eventually. Be glad she's alive at all. She _could_ be _dead

I decided not to bring up the fact that technically she _was_ dead. I knew what she meant. And Bella _did_ attract danger like a magnet. And I _was_ glad that she wasn't gone forever, but . . .

"She never would have been there."

_No, but Tyler would have done her in over a year and a half ago without you. And those men in Port Angeles. . ._

I barely contained the growl that rose in my chest. I didn't like to remember that particular close call. But I had to admit that her point was valid, though it didn't relieve my guilt.

Suddenly, the rest of our Alaskan friends came into range of my powers. I quickly shut their thoughts out of my mind—I had to focus on a plan to find Bella. It seemed ridiculous that the best idea a group of eight vampires, including Tanya, could come up with was to wait a while and then hunt down Jacob Black. Forks High School was still in session for a three or four more weeks, but I didn't know about the Quileute Tribal School in La Push. If they had already gotten out for summer break, Jacob could be gone for _any_ amount of time.

It wasn't good enough.

Alice suddenly interrupted my thoughts.

"Oh my gosh! I just thought of another way to find her! And _fast_, too!"

I whipped my head toward her, expectantly, completely alert.

_Hold on just a second._

I looked at her, exasperated.

_Wait for it . . ._

What was she doing? Trying to build up our emotions—my emotions—for dramatic effect?

_Wait for it . . ._

I heard the door open behind me, but I was too busy concentrating on Alice's thoughts to pay any heed to that.

_Okay. _She grinned, suddenly. _Okay, turn around._

I looked at her, confused, but I heard someone behind me intake a jagged lungful of air and did what Alice said.

My eyes opened wide in shock, because there she was—just like magic.

I didn't know what to say. I'd had no warning—no time to organize my thoughts . . . and the omnipresent wall blocking _her_ thoughts gave me no hint. Her shocked and . . . horrified? . . . look wasn't very promising though.

She hated me—just like I knew she would. I felt my face fall.

And as it did, she turned and bolted out the door, faster than I had ever imagined she could go.

**

* * *

****Bella Swan – Tuesday, May 16, 2006**

We had been out hunting and testing my boundaries for a couple of days. I _finally_ felt like I was making progress. Not _much_ progress, but a noticeable amount . . . to me, at least. I was so proud of myself—the vegetarian lifestyle my friends lived seemed like it might actually be attainable. Not tomorrow, but some time in the future. Maybe a year from now. I think it helped that there were so many large animals in the region—they were actually pretty satisfying.

I was so pleased with myself—so happy. It was just after midnight, and the nearly full moon lit up the sky so beautifully. And the way the moonlight shimmered off the snow was breathtaking.

We were racing back to the house at nearly top speed—or as fast as vampires could run through three or more feet of packed snow. I got to the door first, thanks to my new vampire super-speed. I opened it carefully—I still had a tendency to break things if I didn't concentrate on what I was doing.

I stepped inside quickly, leaving the door open for the others. As I walked farther into the entryway, the living room came into view.

I hadn't expected anyone to be there because Tanya wasn't a big TV watcher. When she was home alone, she tended to stick to her bedroom or office. So the fact that there were eight people—eight _vampires_—before me was startling. I gasped rather loudly, and brought my hand to my chest—over the spot where my heart used to beat.

Then, as I registered the faces of the people who looked up at me, my eyes bulged, and my hand moved to cover my mouth.

And as I saw the eighth person turn—the person whose face I would know anywhere—the person I knew just from the back of his wild-haired head—I was momentarily stunned. He was so beautiful—so perfect. I could hardly believe he was sitting there in front of me. But then my brain kicked in, remembering everything that had happened between us, and I freaked out.

I struggled with the multitude of emotions that were suddenly fighting for control of my body: fear, hurt, anxiety, grief, shock, horror, embarrassment, pain. There was one emotion that, even with the battle raging inside me, I tried to fight, because of how absolutely stupid and useless it was to feel: love. _Unrequited_ love.

I felt Jasper attempting to calm me, but it was no use. I had to get out of here. I had no idea what my face was doing—which emotion had managed to take control of my expression—but as I saw Edward's face fall—his disappointment at seeing me, no doubt—utter sadness overtook all else. I turned and fled before I could start crying big tearless sobs in front of these people I loved. I was so incredibly happy to see them again, but I would die if Edward realized I still loved him, even after all this time.

I didn't want him to know how hopelessly I still yearned for him. I didn't want him to know how completely pathetic I was.

So I ran as far away as I could, as quickly as I could.

**

* * *

****Edward Cullen – Tuesday, May 16, 2006**

The living room was completely silent for about ten seconds after Bella left. Then it erupted in the chaos of my family's thoughts. They were all thinking quickly and loudly all at once. My nearly debilitating emotions made it impossible for me to pick the mental voices apart.

"Why are you just sitting there?" Alice suddenly asked, incredulous.

"What do you mean? She obviously didn't want to see me. . . ." I said depressively.

"What are you _talking_ about? She loves you, Edward! She just doesn't think that _you_ love _her_! She still believes what you told her before we left Forks! Right, Tanya?"

Tanya nodded, adamantly.

"They're right, Edward," Jasper spoke up. "I could feel it—her love, but with accompanying hopelessness. The fear of being found out. Embarrassment. Among the rest of it."

"Go after her, Edward! Tell her you still love her! Make her believe you!" Alice commanded.

I felt fear bubble up inside me. Why would she want me? I didn't deserve her, and I knew it.

_Just go, Edward—trust us, _Jasper agreed._ Do whatever it takes. You won't be happy until you have her, and you'll never get her back if you don't try._

I nodded, then closed my eyes and took three deep breaths, as I attempted to muster some courage. Then I jumped up and ran out the door without allowing myself to think any more.

Bella had a good two-minute head start, and she was fast. But not _that_ fast. I could see the path she had just trodden in the snow. And I could just make out the sounds of branches breaking as she ran haphazardly ahead.

I took off after her, as fast as I could go.

**

* * *

****Bella Swan – Tuesday, May 16, 2006**

I thought I was home free. I was running as fast as I could—toward the mountain. I knew exactly where the surrounding settlements were, and exactly how to avoid them. And I had no idea how long I would have to run.

It had been about five minutes when I heard it. Someone following me. Someone _catching up_.

My dead heart sank into my empty stomach as I realized that there was only one person—of the twelve other vampires—who would be able to catch me, as a new vampire.

I didn't want to see him. I didn't want to talk to him.

Well, those were lies.

The truth was I didn't want _him_ to see _me_. For two reasons, really.

The first was superficial. I didn't want him to see my red eyes. I don't really know why I even thought of that. Maybe because it would be a constant reminder of what I now was. And I didn't want him to think I would always be here—pestering him—for eternity.

And the second reason was because of my face. It was still the open book my mother had called it. Carmen had said something like that once—that my face was very expressive. And I didn't want Edward to look into my ruby red eyes and see that I still loved him—see that I was absolutely miserably without him. I knew that he didn't love me—that he was over me—and I could handle that. I'd been practicing for eight months now, after all. But I would never get over him.

Ever.

And now I had to face him. Unless . . .

There was a small cave up ahead that was hidden behind a large bush. Perhaps I could hide? I slowed down as I approached the grotto, being as quiet as I could. I crept inside, curled up, and held my breath.


	12. Persuasion

**Too Late**

**by saranicole**

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**A/N - Here, have another chapter... since you are the best readers EVER!!! This is the last chapter before the epilogue... Just so you know! **

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**Chapter Twelve – Persuasion**

**Edward Cullen – Tuesday, May 16, 2006**

After about five minutes, I came to a dead end. Her trail just stopped. The sounds of her quiet trampling through the forest had ended about a minute and a half before, and now she was gone.

Where did she go?

I couldn't see where she might be, and I couldn't hear anything.

I tried sniffing the air. That same scent from inside the house . . . from what must have been Bella's room—the room that was usually mine . . .

She was here, hidden somewhere. I sniffed again to determine the direction in which she was located. The incredible scent—the one that was still so luscious, but which now caused me no pain—seemed to be coming from behind a bush. I walked over and pushed it aside, and found a small alcove in the rock. And huddled there, with her knees pulled to her chest, her head tucked down on them, not even breathing, was my beautiful, darling angel. Hiding from me.

I quietly removed the large shrub from the ground (roots and all) and threw it a few feet away into the snow.

I knelt down next to her, still unsure of what I should say. Would she even listen to what I told her? Would she believe any of it?

I didn't know, but I had to try. So I said the first thing I could think of.

"I'm sorry."

She didn't respond, though she did start breathing.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. For everything."

**

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****Bella Swan – Tuesday, May 16, 2006**

I knew it.

Oh, God. My heart was breaking in two.

He was sorry for everything. Sorry he ever met me—ever befriended me—everything.

My breaths were coming our unevenly now. Why couldn't I be composed? Why couldn't I pretend not to care? Perhaps because I had never cared about anything or anyone as much as I cared for him?

"Bella? Bella—say something, please."

No. I couldn't. If I said anything, it would give me away. Instead, I tucked my face into my knee and drew my arms more tightly around my knees and head.

And then he touched me. He tried to pull my arm away from covering my face. My skin burned from his touch. And I couldn't stop him. He was still stronger than me.

"Bella, at least look at me," he pleaded.

Oh, gosh—why did he have to keep saying my name? The word on his lips sounded sweeter than I remembered. But I couldn't look at him—as much as I wanted to—because it would give me away.

He grabbed my chin firmly in his hand and raised my head, but I kept my eyes pointed away from him, blinking frequently. It was my last hope. He couldn't force my eyes to look in a certain direction.

He _did _try turning my head—to put his face in my range of vision—but I dodged him again, closing my eyes altogether.

He sighed, loudly—annoyed—and let go of me. I could still feel the burning sensation—the amazing, beautiful tingling—on my face. I tucked my chin against my knee, trying to spread the incredible feeling without success.

He muttered something under his breath that I would never had heard with my human ears. But I wasn't human anymore. He'd said, "I knew you could never forgive me."

My head popped up without my permission, my eyes suddenly intent on his face. And after all that effort to keep my eyes away from him! "Forgive you? For what?"

He brought his eyes down to mine, and I saw . . . pain. Anguish.

Why?

"For everything." There it was again. But this time he elaborated. "For ever exposing you to the dangers of our world. For leaving you unprotected in Forks. For not being with you for the change. For leaving you to the werewolves. . . .

"You must believe me—I thought you were safe. I thought you would be _so_ safe in Forks. If I had known Laurent or Victoria would come back . . . if I had know you'd get mixed up with the werewolves . . . I never would have left."

He was taking all the blame—even where he _clearly_ wasn't at fault.

"Edward," I managed to squeeze out. "This is _not_ your fault." I addressed each issue in turn. The superior vampire memory was a marvelous thing. "I _wanted_ to become mixed up in your world—_I_ was the one who wouldn't stop trying to find out your secret. And you forget—I'm a danger magnet. It was _my_ fault that James, Victoria, and Laurent ever caused trouble. It was _my_ fault that Laurent and Victoria came back. It was _my_ fault I befriended a werewolf—though in my defense, he wasn't one then. It is _my _fault I got bitten.

"You don't need to shoulder the blame for everything. Just because danger always finds me . . . well . . . I don't blame you for any of it. I never have." This was all true. And I was determined to continue telling the truth, even though what had to come next was beyond difficult for me to say. "You did what you should have done. You can't always do things just to make others happy. You have to . . . well, as corny as it may sound, you have to be _true_ to _yourself_."

He couldn't have stayed with me just because I loved him. He didn't want me, and he shouldn't feel like he ought to have stayed. He followed his heart, just as he should have.

"_True_ to _myself_? What on earth are you talking about? How is leaving the woman I love heartbroken and alone to be attacked by vampires and forced to rely on the aid of werewolves while undergoing the worst pain imaginable being 'true' to myself?"

A flicker of hope bubbled inside me for a millisecond before I realized his error and squelched it. Maybe he had loved me once, but he had used the present tense 'love' by mistake. The shattered hope stung as if I had been stabbed in the heart with a hot poker and I had to hold my breath to stop myself from letting out a cry of pain.

"Bella?"

I couldn't say anything. I was still holding my breath.

"Bella, why aren't you breathing?"

I looked up at him. I don't know what he saw in my face or in my eyes, but he looked confused, suddenly.

"No. No, it can't be true. Were they serious? Do you _really_ believe that I don't love you anymore?" His voice was colored with disbelief.

I grimaced as another hope bubble rose inside me.

"Bella—" he said, intensely, taking my face between his hands. "I know you prefer literature to mathematics, but will you try one small problem for me?"

I gulped. Great. Math. Just what I needed at a time like this.

"Bella, how many times have I told you that _I love you_?" He enunciated the last three words, saying them with feeling.

Too many to count. "A few," I said painfully. He raised an eyebrow at my answer. "Quite a few?" I amended, with more pain.

Apparently satisfied, he continued, "And how many times did I tell you I didn't love you?"

"Once." Just once. And once had been more than enough.

"Alright, given what you know about me and assuming that there are no other options, which is more likely, mathematically: That I lied the _hundreds_ of times I told you that _I love you_, or that I lied the _one_ time I told you I didn't?"

I felt more bubbles rising. He didn't wait for me to answer before he went on.

"I wish beyond anything that I had listened to Alice. . . . She told me I was being stupid. She told me that you wouldn't be safe—that I was fighting fate. But I couldn't see any other option. I was putting your life in danger. I thought that I had to leave—that it was the only way to make you safe. I thought, like the imbecile I am, that if I convinced you I didn't care, you would be able to move on—that you could go back to your normal human life. That you would be happier. So I lied to you. I told you I didn't love you. It nearly killed me to say the words—those blasphemous words. I thought I might be struck by lightning for even _thinking_ them."

My insides were boiling bubbles of hope. Could this be true? Could he feel about me the way I feel about him? Was it possible?

"And you believed me! Almost immediately! I thought it would take hours to even raise the slightest doubt in you about how I felt. After everything—after all the times I told you how deeply I feel for you—how could you believe that hideous lie?"

I sniffled. "It never made any sense for you to love me. I always knew that. I never deserved to have someone like you. I always knew you'd realize it someday—that my time with you was limited."

"_What_?!" he sounded genuinely shocked at my response. "Bella! You are the most incredible person I have ever met—the best person I know! _I'm_ the one who doesn't deserve _you_. You are _far_ too good for me."

I made a sound of complete disbelief—something between a snort and a laugh.

"You don't believe me? Bella, my life hasn't been the same since I met you. You are everything that is good. You are sweet and kind-hearted, gentle, thoughtful. You are the most giving and selfless person I have ever come across. You never think of yourself, which, believe me, is _rare_. You forgive almost too freely. You are intelligent and beautiful. You have the keenest intuition, and always see through my pretenses—except this time, apparently. Bella, you make me want to be a better man."

I was suddenly glad I couldn't cry, because I would have been bawling at that beautiful speech.

"Do you really believe those things?" I asked, shocked, but extremely flattered.

"Yes. I _do_. And I love you more than words could _ever_ express."

I knew it was dangerous, but I let myself believe him. I let myself believe this incredible man really did love me—really did want _me_.

I let myself believe it so thoroughly, that before I even realized what my body was doing, I had leaned over and pressed my lips to his.

I was still kissing him when my brain finally caught up with my mouth.

It started the way I remembered—softly, carefully—as if I might break at any moment. But it was different. I could feel everything—taste everything—smell everything—so much more clearly than I ever had before. Because I was like him now. The moment I realized this, I started breaking old barriers without hesitation. I shifted onto my knees, so I could lean closer to him. I brushed my tongue against the corner of his mouth, without response. I tried again, but he kept his mouth firmly closed.

But then he seemed to come to the same realization I had. I could tell the moment he remembered I wasn't a fragile little human girl anymore, because his hands moved from my face. One hand went to the small of my back, lifting us both up tall onto our knees, pressing our bodies together from knee to chest. I wrapped my arms around him—my hands splayed across his muscular back, holding him closer, as his other hand cupped the back of my head, holding my mouth to his.

Finally, he could kiss me like I had wanted him to for so long. And he did—without any further reservations.

We stayed like this—drinking each other in—making up for so much lost time—for a very long while. We had a lot to talk about, but there would be time for that later. Right now, all I wanted to do was show Edward how much I love him.

---

After a long and thorough demonstration of our mutual affection, we were still gripping each other as if we were each afraid to let go. Our foreheads were resting together and we were both breathing heavily.

"I love you," Edward practically cooed to me. I very nearly melted.

I squeezed him for a few moments and replied, fervently, "I love you _so_ much."

"I don't ever want you to leave my sight again. I want you by my side for forever. I want to be able to hold you—to kiss you—to look deeply into your eyes—whenever I want to."

"Mmm," I sighed in agreement.

"Will you? Will you always be with me?"

"Of course I will."

"Promise?" he implored.

"Yes . . . except when I have to shower."

"What if I want you there even when you have to shower?" he asked, deviously.

"Edward!" I cried, astonished by the first sign that he really was an eternally teenaged boy.

He laughed. "I didn't mean it like _that_. I just . . ." He paused, then started over:

"Bella, I love you more that I ever envisioned was possible. I will _always_ love you. _Forever_. I know I'm not good enough for you, but when I'm with you, I feel like I could be someday. I want to spend every day and every night by your side, whatever good or bad might come our way."

"Me too—I feel exactly that way."

"Do you?"

I nodded passionately.

"Will you let me spend the rest of eternity with you? Will you do me the great honor of being my wife? Will you marry me?"

I took a very deep, surprised breath.

Was this what I wanted? I wanted to be with him forever. I would never stop loving him or wanting him. And I wanted everyone to know that I was his and he was mine.

But _marriage_? Marriage had been the death of my parents' relationship. I'd never seen a marriage that worked. Nothing could ever happen that would make me stop loving Edward, but were his feelings for me as permanent?

"What if you realized later that you made a big mistake? What if you fell out of love with me? Then what?"

"_Impossible_. I will _always_ love you. Nothing and no one could _ever_ change that. And being with _you_ for eternity could _never _be a mistake. I think we were always meant to be together—we're soul mates, you and I."

_Yes, we are._ Our very souls were intertwined. I still needed time to wrap my mind around the idea of marriage, but I wanted that level of commitment. I wanted us to be together in every way—emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually. I wanted to be with him—I wanted us to be one. . . .

But, I still needed time.

"Yes, Edward. Yes, I _will_ marry you. But we have to wait—I am _not_ having red eyes in my wedding photos!"

The perfect excuse. It just came to me. And it was true. Plus, it gave me about ten months to get used to the idea—to study the couples I knew—the vampire couples—and witness true love, true eternal commitment, for myself.

He didn't seem to mind the stipulation. He jumped up onto his feet, wrapped his arms around me under my arms, and twirled me around, perfectly elated. We hugged and laughed and kissed some more.

---

Eventually, we made it back to the house. Alice was the first to meet us. She hugged Edward and me and said a _very_ heartfelt congratulations, then called upstairs: "Jasper! Everyone! Come down here, please!"

Jasper was there in seconds, followed by the rest of the Cullens, Tanya, and her family.

"Whoa!" Jasper said, overwhelmed. "Check _this_ out." And I felt the feelings between Edward and I magnified to fill the room. I smiled even more hugely and wrapped my arms tighter around Edward's waist, burying my face in his side. He pulled me around to face him, and we beamed at each other.

Edward was the first to break the silence. "Yes, Esme."

She gasped jubilantly, and hugged Carlisle. "They're getting married!! Edward's getting married!!" I thought she might start jumping up and down.

"It's about time!" Emmett added.

Everyone laughed, then took turns with their congratulations.

Before everyone went their separate ways, to give us some privacy, Edward looked over to Carlisle—obviously (to me anyway) listening to something Carlisle was thinking to him.

After a moment, Edward shook his head and said, with strong feeling, "She was _definitely_ worth the wait."

**The End**

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**A/N – Before anyone asks, Carlisle thought: **_**Edward, I am so pleased for you. I knew that someday, you would find someone who would make you supremely happy. I only wish you could have found her sooner.**_

**AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!! I know:) I hope you liked the story! **

**And Annalaia, I hope you're satisfied with the making out... I never was much of an artist... :)**

**I will post the epilogue tomorrow, before the Eclipse release party:)**

**PS - I HATE FANFICTION WITH THE FIRE OF A THOUSAND SUNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

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	13. Epilogue: Strategy

**Too Late**

**by saranicole**

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**A/N – I don't hate the STORIES on fanfiction... I just hate the website! I'm slightly... well... anal retentive. Is it too much to want the formatting to be perfect? IS IT? **_**IS IT???**_** Apparently so. GRRRRR!**

**Anyway... Now the last of the questions will be answered:) And one last bit of Edward's point of view, which I love reading and writing. I hope you enjoy this!**

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**Epilogue – Strategy**

**Edward Cullen – Late June, 2006**

Bella and I spent nearly a month in Denali. Carlisle had to go back to Ithaca to teach and work, and Jasper was in the middle of classes as well. Esme and Alice had gone with them. Rosalie and Emmett had gone to Europe for a couple of weeks—until we got back.

Bella and I had spent every moment together (except during shower time). I was surprised at how well Bella had adjusted to being one of the "eternally damned," although Bella hated it when I referred to us that way. She would say, lovingly, "As long as I get to be with you for eternity, I'll consider myself eternally _blessed_, thank you very much. I don't care where we are: Heaven, Hell, or anywhere in between, as long as you're with me."

She was the light and love of my life.

---

After a nearly three-day drive, we made it to New York, joining the rest of the family.

About a week after our arrival, we were having a family meeting, as we did on occasion, when I brought up the Victoria issue. She was still out there, and when she found out Bella was now one of us, her desire to seek revenge would grow tenfold.

We needed to find her and remove the threat before she found us.

So, we were planning—trying to come up with a way to bait her or set a trap for her. We had some interesting ideas on the table so far. But I could still hear everyone's doubts. Bella hadn't said much of anything during the entire discussion, but she'd been shaking her head at some of the suggested plans.

"Bella, what are you thinking?" I finally asked. It was still so frustrating not to know.

"I don't know. . . . I was just. . . ." she shook her head again.

"Why do you keep shaking your head then?"

"Because none of the plans will work. They all have . . . fatal flaws."

I raised an eyebrow at her choice of words. "Fatal flaws? How so?"

She listed the problems with each of the ideas we had come up with. She was completely right. She saw weaknesses in the details—things no one else had seen. Her insights were genius, really.

"And we're back to square one. Unless you've concocted a plan in that brilliant mind of yours?"

"Well, actually . . . I was thinking . . ."

And she spent the next twenty minutes laying out an idea that she must have been developing the entire time we'd been discussing our erroneous strategies. The plan was detailed, but surprisingly simple. It would be fairly easy to execute, and seemed to have none of the 'fatal flaws' Bella had spoken of earlier. Everyone seemed impressed—especially Emmett.

"Yes! This is going to be _awesome_!" he exclaimed, when he realized that he had a central part in the plan.

As she put the finishing touches on the idea—like frosting on a cake—a thought entered my mind that I couldn't shake. I leaned back in my chair, and thought about other instances I had seen and heard about.

When Bella finished, the rest of the family spent about thirty minutes saying things like, "But what about . . . no, that's covered. . . ." Every so often, someone would actually have a valid question, but Bella had all the answers.

So we all voted yea or nay to Bella's ingenious plan. It was unanimous in the affirmative. Bella even had Rosalie's usually skeptical vote.

I felt like I had to speak up before our party broke—I needed everyone's input—especially Carlisle's.

"Before we adjourn, I had one more item. I was just thinking a few minutes ago about this scheme of Bella's. And I think it's . . . well . . . it's almost _too _brilliant. Carlisle? Emmett? Don't you think Bella's idea was a bit _too_ amazing?"

_Huh?_ Emmett thought. _It's a great strategy. What's your point?_

"What are you trying to say?" Bella inserted, offended. "I didn't steal the idea from a book or anything!"

"No, no. I don't mean it that way at all. But Emmett—remember when we were trying to get Bella away from James in the first place? It was _Bella_ who came up with the plan. Remember—you were really impressed—you called her 'diabolical.'"

"Yeah, that was a good plan, too. She's a smart one."

"And then, later, Bella managed to find a way to escape at the airport, even though Jasper can feel emotions and Alice can _see the future_. Yet she _still _managed to get away." Did they see where I was going with this? It was so obvious to me.

"And Tanya told us about how Bella managed to get to Denali successfully, even though she was alone, had never been there before, and could have failed in any of a million different ways? Especially given that she had _just_ been changed."

_You think she has a power?_ I nodded at Carlisle._ What do you think it is, exactly?_

I turned to face him, since he was the only one who seemed to be following me. "I'm not sure. . . . Strategy. Planning. But I don't think that's the extent of it. I've been trying to think of other things—smaller things. Like how she can't be beaten at chess, even though she didn't even know how to play a week ago. That obviously fits."

"Yes, that fits," Carlisle agreed.

"Edward—what are you talking about?" Bella asked, but I was on a role.

"But then, consider how easily Bella persuaded Rosalie that her plan would work. Rosalie—who never likes _any_ plan that would endanger the family—especially Emmett, like this would."

"Yes. Intriguing . . ."

"Edward—seriously! What are you talking about? I'm sorry I keep beating you at chess, and that Rosalie likes me better than you today!"

I shook my head at her. She wasn't getting the point at all, which actually surprised me.

"And how none of the Denali clan told _any _of us Bella was there—even though they _knew _what I was like—just because Bella "asked" them to?"

"That _is_ curious—that they'd show loyalty toward _her_ over us at that point."

"I didn't know you still loved me! I'm sorry!" She was getting frustrated.

"I don't know how, but the fact that Alice couldn't see Bella, but now she can. . . . That has to have something to do with it."

"Yes, it must. Perhaps she just decided she didn't want to be found."

"That would certainly be interesting. . . . Can you think of anything else?" I asked Carlisle.

_Yes. How about how you have to wait _nine more months_ to get married, but you don't even seem to mind . . . because Bella wants to wait._

"That's just because I love her!"

He chuckled at me. _Yeah, _he added sarcastically. _I'm not _that _much older than you, Edward. . . . Not physically, anyway._

I thought about that for about three seconds, before looking over at Bella suspiciously. I pointed at her when I looked back at Carlisle, and said, "You think she. . . ?" I pointed back and forth between Bella and I.

He thought she'd used her power on me to put the wedding off? "But _why_?"

"I have no idea. You'd have to ask _her_. But if it's any consolation, I'm one hundred percent sure she didn't do it on purpose."

"Okay, Edward. What the _hell_ are you talking about?" she demanded. "Tell me. Right now."

"Your power."

"I don't have a power," she replied, immediately. "You know that."

"I think you do," I contradicted. "I think you have an incredible power. Subtle, sometimes, but awesome."

"What is it?"

"Like I said before: strategy or planning or something to that effect. I think we'll be able to name it better the more we see it in action. But I also think that you have the ability to make other people believe in your ideas. Like I was saying with Rosalie and the Denali clan.

"And like Carlisle suggested. . . . Apparently he doesn't think it's . . . normal . . . that I'm not putting up a fight to make you marry me sooner. But I've waited 105 years—89 as a vampire. I don't know why it's so strange that I'd be willing to wait another nine months."

Bella opened her mouth and I could tell she was trying to squeeze our something, but was unable to. Instead, she closed her mouth and looked down at her hands, which she had clasped in her lap.

"Bella?" I asked suspiciously, trying to get her to look at me.

She glanced back up at me, apologetically.

"Bella?" I questioned more seriously. And it all spilled out.

"I'm sorry! I just . . . I needed some time to get used to the idea. I want to marry you—I do—I want to spend eternity with you. And I realize that titles are important to you: husband and wife . . . but I didn't grow up the same way you did. I've never seen a marriage that worked. The whole institution kind of freaks me out." She shook her hands and made a scared face. It really did scare her—she looked petrified. "I just needed some time." She paused. "Although the eye thing is true, too . . . sort of. . . ."

I understood. I really did. I was an old-fashioned guy. I really couldn't help it. My mother had raised me properly—in a religious home. Bella's background was totally different. But I was still shocked.

"I just can't believe you used your powers of persuasion on me!"

"I didn't mean to! I didn't even know I _had_ powers! I'm sorry! If you want to, we can . . . I mean, I can . . ."

She was on the verge of having a nervous breakdown at the idea of moving up the wedding.

"Bella—we can wait. It's fine. I love you."

She exhaled sharply and looked very relieved. "Thank you. I love you, too. _So much_."

"Just be careful where you aim those powers next time."

"I'll try, although I still don't really know how they work."

"Well, we have time. We can experiment with it. Emmett—what would you say to a game of Risk?"

"You're on!"

"I'm betting on Bella!" Alice chirped.

"And I'm betting with Alice," Jasper agreed.

---

A relatively short time later (in Risk time), Bella's powers proved true. Even though Risk involved quite a bit of chance (rolling the dice), she seemed to know exactly when to play the odds and when to quit while she was ahead.

It seemed that all she needed was to know the rules of the game, and then examine the position of all the pieces, and her amazing abilities kicked in.

This was actually pretty much how it worked in her real-life strategizing. She needed some kind of goal to read (getting to Denali, killing Victoria, etc.), then with her keen understanding of how to work the rules in her favor, and her knowledge or the key or available players, she would devise a thorough and brilliant strategy to bring about her endgame.

And she could talk anyone into anything, which wasn't so great when she was using her power on me (unless she was using it to make me kiss her), but could be quite hilarious otherwise—especially when she made Emmett do funny things.

That was Bella for you. And this was just another of the numberless reasons I loved her, and why, in nine months, I would become the happiest man that ever lived.

**The End (again)**

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**A/N – Thanks so much for reading my story! I was so nervous to post it, but now I'm really glad I did. This has been a VERY rewarding experience! Thanks so much for all your support!**

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	14. New Story

**A/N – **I don't know how I feel about people who do this, but... I wrote a little two-shot story that takes place waaaaay before Twilight about how Rosalie learned how to fix cars. It always seemed strange to me that a girl like Rosalie would ever even THINK about getting dirt and grease on her hands, and was thinking about what POSSIBLY could have prompted a desire to learn about cars. And thus How Rosalie Learned About Cars was born.

It's not very long, and I'm really proud of it. I put a lot of time into researching for the story, and I want more people to read it. Call me selfish, if you want to. I will put a little preview on here, so you can decide if you want to read it or not.

Disclaimer – I don't own any of Stephenie Meyer's characters, nor do I own any of their pretty old-time cars. :( I especially don't own Rosalie… nor would I want to. Although I wouldn't mind having her mechanical brilliance!

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**1947**

**Rosalie's POV**

_What was I THINKING, marrying EMMETT MCCARTY?! He is so… ARRRGGGGHHH!!!_ I was shaking with fury. _Unfaithful bastard!_

_I have to get out of here. I don't want to be on the same _continent_ as him right now, let alone in the same godforsaken house!_

And so, as I usually did when I was upset, I grabbed my keys and my purse and headed out the door. I jumped into my beautiful red convertible, slammed the gearshift into the reverse position, and sped away from the house. If he wanted me, he was going to have to come after me.

... (**A/N** - I took a bunch of stuff out right here, like why she's pissed at Emmett...)

I probably would have driven forever, fumed forever. Or at least to the city limits and back a couple of times, but suddenly, the car started handling strangely and making a fast, irregular sound.

Thu-thump, thu-thump, thu-thump…

_Oh, no. THAT can't be good._

* * *

**A/N** - Why is Rosalie mad at Emmett? What will Rosalie do when she realizes a flat tire ruined her getaway? To read more, visit my profile and click on the link for "How Rosalie Learned About Cars"...

THANKS!


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